On June 10, 1943  Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro (1899-1985) patented the ballpoint pen. The inspiration came one day during a visit to the print shop of the magazine for which he wrote. Noticing how quickly the ink dried, he saw the advantages in a pocket-sized writing implement with that property and set to work on a prototype in 1938. To escape the Nazis, Biro fled to Argentina in 1940 and began selling his pens in Buenos Aires in 1945. His name became a household word--biro is a global synonym for the ballpoint pen.     

Source: This Day in Business History by Raymond L. Francis available at the Loop Campus Library, R.330.900202 F819d2006