#236 Birome Ballpoint Pen Collection
1938-1948
First ballpoint pens; utilized the concept of a quick-drying ink whose flow is controlled by gravity and a metal ball housed in a socket.
Collage from 1945 "Birome" ad
As a journalist, Biro was inspired by the concept of quick-drying ink in a print shop. He thought of a new type of pen that could use quick-drying thick ink, rather than the thin, wet, ink used in fountain and quill pens.
Since an ordinary nib would clog thick ink, Biro worked with the idea of a tiny metal sphere rotating in a capillary tube, allowing a quick-drying ink to flow by the force of gravity. Biro's early designs applied mechanical pressure to the ink column to make the ink flow, but his original idea of gravity succeeded in 1943, when technological advances improved the quality of the parts and the ink.
The current design of the ballpoint pen is virtually unchanged from Biro's original idea. He patented his invention in several countries: Budapest, 1938 (No. 120037); Switzerland, 1939 (No. 204880); Argentina, 1940 (No. 51454), 1947 (No. 57892); United States, 1944 (No. 2400679), 1948 (No. 547758).
Biro's ballpoint pen was first marketed in Argentina in 1944 by Biro, Manye, Biro, from which the Birome pen's name was derived. It later changed its name to EterpenCo. The European BIC company most famously manufactured and sold ballpoint pens, in Europe and North America. They are responsible for the worldwide popularity of the ballpoint pen, but not its invention.
The collection of some of the original models of Biro ballpoint pens was donated by the Biro Foundation to an exhibit at the Centro Argentino de Ingenieros in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Landmark Location
Centro Argentino de Ingenieros
Cerritos 1250
Buenos Aires, 1426
Argentina
Owner
Biro Foundation
Ciudad de la Paz 394
Buenos Aires, 1426
Argentina
Related Links
Centro Argentino de Ingenieros
http://www.cai.org.ar
Ceremony Notes
September 29, 2005