Historical Figure
László Bíró
b. 1899
Hungarian-Argentine inventor (1899–1985)
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Biography
László József Bíró, Hispanicized as Ladislao José Biro, was an Argentine, Hungary-born Jewish inventor who patented the first commercially successful modern ballpoint pen. The first ballpoint pen had been invented roughly 50 years earlier by John J. Loud, but it was not a commercial success.
Timeline
The story of László Bíró, told in moments.
Files a patent for the ballpoint pen. He'd noticed that newspaper ink dried quickly without smudging. The trick was getting thick ink to flow. His brother formulated the ink. Laszlo designed a tiny rotating ball at the tip. The fountain pen industry doesn't notice yet.
Flees to Argentina to escape the Nazis. Sets up a factory in Buenos Aires. The RAF orders 30,000 of his pens because they work at high altitude where fountain pens leak. He sells the patent rights cheaply. Others make the fortunes.
Dies in Buenos Aires at 86. In Argentina, Inventors' Day is celebrated on his birthday. In most of the world, people call ballpoint pens "biros." He sold the key patents for almost nothing. Marcel Bich bought one and built an empire called Bic.
Artifacts (15)
Franklin's children were more my mother-in-law's children than they were mine.
ted to live," but little changed. Sara also sought to control the raising of her grandchildren, and Roosevelt reflected later that "Franklin's children were more my mother-in-law's children than they...
It is a good thing to keep the name in the family.
s and other newspapers. When asked for his thoughts on the Roosevelt–Roosevelt union, the president said, "It is a good thing to keep the name in the family." The couple spent a preliminary honeymoon...
I know what pain I must have caused you,
ed the union and made him promise that the engagement would not be officially announced for a year. "I know what pain I must have caused you," he wrote to his mother of his decision. However, he...
You have been a rare wife and have borne your heavy burden most bravely,
William Keen, commended Eleanor's devotion to the stricken Franklin during the time of his travail. "You have been a rare wife and have borne your heavy burden most bravely," he said, proclaiming her...
I know my own mind, and known it for a long time, and know that I could never th...
a year. "I know what pain I must have caused you," he wrote to his mother of his decision. However, he added, "I know my own mind, and known it for a long time, and know that I could never think...
I did not like to live in a house which was not in any way mine, one that I had ...
ra ran both households in the decade after the marriage. Early on, Eleanor had a breakdown in which she explained to Franklin that "I did not like to live in a house which was not in any way mine, one...
I just hate to have Eleanor let herself look as she does. Though never handsome,...
ave her. Eleanor's aunt, Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt Cowles, publicly broke with her after the election. She wrote to her niece, "I just hate to have Eleanor let herself look as she does. Though never...
It was simply awful. It was a beautiful party, of course, but I was so unhappy, ...
She was later given her own "coming out party". She said of her debut in a public discussion once, "It was simply awful. It was a beautiful party, of course, but I was so unhappy, because a girl who...
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