The invention & success of the ball-point pen

In 1930, a Hungarian inventor encouraged children to play with marbles in a puddle, noticing that the balls left a trail of water in their path. So an idea came up: Why not use a ball-shaped metal tip to write?

Thus the pen was born. László József Biro presented his idea with his brother György, a chemist, and together they sought research and experience to create a new type of pen based on this concept.

They finally got the perfect combination: A viscous ink and a tip with a ball that rotated freely, preventing the ink from drying out and controlling its flow. They made their invention at the Budapest International Fair in 1931 and patented it in 1938, although they were unable to commercialize it immediately.

With the start of World War II, the brothers emigrated to Argentina, where they founded a company in a garage. Although it was initially unsuccessful due to the high cost of the product, it was awarded a contract with the British Air Force, which increased its popularity.

In 1943, his invention was leased to Eversharp Faber, in the United States, for US$2 million. In 1950, Marcel Bich acquired the rights and, on the recommendation of a publicist, removed the “h” from his surname and founded the company BICGroup.

That year they launched the first Crystal BIC, one of the most perfect designs ever created, of which more than 20 million units are sold every day around the world. Since 1953, more than 100 billion Crystal BICs have been manufactured, making it the best-selling pen of all time.