Budapest, Hungary, 1930.
László Biró was a journalist. He wrote every day with a fountain pen. But the pen had many problems: it smudged the paper, stained his fingers, and the ink took a long time to dry.
At the newspaper's printing press, on the other hand, the ink dried very quickly. Biró thought, "Why can't I write with that ink?" He tried, but that ink was too thick and would not come out of the pen.
According to a well-known story, one day he saw some marbles in the street. One rolled through a puddle and, as it kept rolling, left a wet line on the ground. Biró had an idea: a tiny ball at the tip of a pen that turns and leaves the ink on the paper.
With his brother György, who was a chemist, he began working on the invention. By 1938, Biró had already patented a first version in Paris.
But in Europe the danger was growing. Biró was Jewish, and the Nazis were gaining power.
One day, in a hotel in Yugoslavia, Biró was writing with his invention. A gentleman watched him with curiosity and asked him about that strange pen. They talked for a while, and the gentleman invited him to his country. Later, Biró found out who he was: Agustín P. Justo, a former president of Argentina.
Soon afterward, the Second World War began. Biró had to flee. With his brother and his friend Juan Jorge Meyne, he crossed the ocean and arrived in Buenos Aires. He had left behind his home, his work and his language.
Buenos Aires was a large, modern city. Many European immigrants lived there who, like him, were looking for a new life.
In Argentina he started over. At first the invention failed: sometimes the ink would not come out, and other times too much came out. Biró tried again and again. Some people laughed at him: "Writing with a little ball? You're crazy!" But he did not give up.
In 1943 he finally found the solution he had been looking for over many years, and he patented an improved version in Argentina. With Meyne he founded a company. Because they combined their surnames, Biró and Meyne, Argentines called the pen a "birome." In Argentina, people still call it that.
In 1944, biromes reached the shops of Buenos Aires. They were expensive, but very practical: the ink dried right away and lasted a long time.
Soon, companies in the United States and Europe bought the rights to the invention. One of those buyers was a Frenchman, Marcel Bich. With Biró's idea, he created the famous Bic pens.
Biró lived in Argentina for the rest of his life and kept inventing things. He died in Buenos Aires in 1985. Today, every September 29, his birthday, Argentina celebrates Inventor's Day.
Biró arrived in Argentina with an idea and almost nothing else. Today, that idea fits in any pocket in the world. And in Argentina, it still carries his name.