The first ballpoint pen was invented in 1888 by a leather tanner named John Laud. However, they were never mass produced. Over the next thirty years many subsequent ballpoint pen designs were mass produced. The ink in these pens always caused a problem. If the ink was too thin, the pen would leak. If it was too thick, it would clog. In certain weather conditions depending on pressure or temperature, they could actually do both.
Two men eventually solved this problem of the ballpoint pen once and for all. The first, Patrick J. Frawley, Jr., made a pen with a no-smudge, no-smear, and washable ink. It was also the first of its kind to have a retractable tip. He called his pen the "Papermate. " This is the name it holds to this day.
The other innovator of the time was a Frenchman by the name of Marcel Bich. He wanted to introduce an inexpensive, clear-barreled, non-leaking ballpoint pen with a smooth stroke. In 1952, Bich introduced the "Ballpoint Bic., a name now synonymous with ballpoint pens.
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