As tradition goes, we are greeted with a new Google Doodle today and it is in celebration of Ladislao Jos Biro s 117th birthday. Many may not have heard of him, but he is the inventor of the iconic ballpoint pen. The doodle shows a Google written with a ballpoint pen on an old paper background which gives a vintage feel to it. Below the tip of the ballpoint pen, a small bubble connects it which shows a clip of how ink is transferred through the refill of the pen to the tip. Biro was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1899. Also Read - Google completes Fitbit acquisition
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The first production of the ballpoint pen was introduced at the Budapest International Fair in 1931. The idea for the ballpoint pen, came to Biro’s head when he was working as a journalist in Hungary. Biro noticed that the ink used in printing newspapers dried quickly which left the paper dry. Biro tried using the same ink in a fountain pen but understood that the ink would not flow into the tip of the fountain pen. Biro then worked out a solution which he made possible with the help of his brother Gy rgy, who was a chemist. With his help, he developed a new tip which consisted of a ball that was free to turn in a socket. As the socket turned, it would pick up ink from a cartridge and then roll to finally produce it on the paper.
Biro had patented the invention of the ballpoint pen in Paris in the year 1938. Later in the year 1943, both Biro and his brother moved to Argentina. Then on June 10, in the US, they filed for another patent which was US Patent 2,390,636. After this, the brothers formed Biro Pens of Argentina. Their new design of the ballpoint pen was noticed in the United Kingdom as the Royal Air Force aircrew had it supplied because they found the ballpoint pen worked much better than fountain pens while flying at high altitudes.
In the year 1945, the Frenchman Marcel Bich bought the patent from Biro for the pen which then became the main product of his company, Bic. Bic is now the world s leading producer of ballpoint pens. Biro died in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the year 1985 and the country celebrates its Inventor s Day today in memory of Biro and his invention. An interesting note here is that the ballpoint pen is widely referred to as biro in many countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia and Italy. ALSO READ: Jean Batten s 107th birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
