László Bíró developed the first commercially successful ballpoint pen and patented his design in 1938.
Bíró was a Hungarian journalist who wanted an alternative to fountain pens, which could leak, smudge, or require frequent refilling. He used a thicker, fast-drying ink and a tiny rotating ball held in a socket. As the pen moved, the ball picked up ink from the cartridge and transferred it to paper.
Bíró and his brother György, a chemist, worked on the ink and mechanism. The design was later produced and marketed in several countries, and the word “biro” remains a common term for a ballpoint pen in parts of the world. Marcel Bich later helped make inexpensive ballpoints widely available through the BIC brand.
Ballpoint pens had earlier prototypes, so Bíró was not the first person to imagine a rolling-ball writing instrument. His importance lies in making the design practical and commercially successful.