László Jószef Biró was born to a Hungarian Jewish family in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After leaving school, he began work as a journalist in Hungary.
While working as a journalist, Biró noticed the ink in newspaper printing dried quickly, which left the paper dry and smudge-free. Initially, he tried using the newspaper printing ink in a fountain pen, but discovered that the viscous ink would not flow into the tip.
Then, in 1930, Biró noticed children playing with marbles in a puddle. He observed that the marbles left a trail of water behind them as they rolled. This gave Biró an idea: why not try a ball-shaped metal nib for writing? From this, he designed the ball pen.
Biró presented the first production of the ballpoint pen at the Budapest International Fair in 1931. Working with his brother György, a chemist, László developed a new tip consisting of a ball that was free to turn in a socket, picking up a special viscous ink from a cartridge, and rolling to deposit the ink on the paper. Biró patented the invention in Paris in 1938.
During World War II, Biró fled the Nazis with his brother. They relocated to Argentina in 1943 at he invitation of Agustin Justo, the President, who met the inventor in Yugoslavia while on vacation. At the time, Justo had noticed Biró’s pen.
In 1943, the brothers filed another patent, which issued in the United States as U.S. Patent No. 2,390,636, and formed Biro Pens of Argentina. The new design was licensed for production in the United Kingdom for supply to Royal Air Force crew.
In 1945, Marcel Bich bought the patent from Biró, and the ballpoint pen soon became the main product of his company: Bic.
In November 1945, Milton Reynolds introduced a gravity-fed pen to the US market, to attempt to design around Biró’s patent. Reynolds’ design was based on capillary action, such that fresh ink was drawn out of the reservoir of the pen as ink was deposited on the paper. Because the Reynolds design depended on a gravity feed, the pen did not infringe the Biró patent, but the Reynolds pen required less viscous ink and a larger barrel. The Reynolds pen was successful for a few years, but developed a reputation for leaking. Competition from established pen manufacturers overtook Reynolds quickly.
Biró died in Buenos Aires in 1985. Argentina’s Inventors’ Day is celebrated on Biró’s birthday, September 29.