The modern ball point pen was invented in 1938 by the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Josef Biro who first tried using the ink used in newspaper printing in a fountain pen. It did not work out though, as the too thick ink would not flow into the nib. So, together with his brother, a chemist, he developed a new kind of pen, which used a freely moving ball as a nib.

Biro patented his invention in 1938 in Paris after fleeing Hungary, and in 1943, when the family moved to Argentine the other patent was filed.

Then a British government official decided that the new pens worked much better than fountain pens at high altitude, and bought the British licensing rights soon after the patent was filed. (The question is though why the aircrews needed the pens at high altitude?)

Laszlo Biro is so highly respected in Argentina that Argentina's Inventor's Day is celebrated on Biro's birthday, September 29.

See the Biromash, ballpoint pen drawing, at biro-art.com.