29 October Engineering Knowledge History[1]
29 October 1945 - The first ball point pen in the U.S. went on sale at Gimbels Department Stores for $12.95.
The first successful sales of ballpoint pen happened on 29 October 1945. The day before, there was a full-page ad in the New York Times announcing the first sale of ballpoint pens in the United States. On the first day of sales, Gimbels sold the entire stock of 10,000 pens-at $12.50 each.
The pens were manufactured by a Chicago salesman named Milton Reynolds. Reynolds had seen a ball pen (Biro’s pen) in a stores in Argentina and speculated on its popularity in America. Many of the patents issued on ball pens had expired by then. So Reynolds developed his ball pen without any patent protection or support. Reynolds made a deal with Gimbels to sell ballpoint pens. He set up a factory with 300 workers.
The subsequent demand was unprecedented. In the first three months, two million pens were sold through 60,000 retail outlets in the United States and 37 foreign countries, for total revenues of $5.7 million, with a net income of $1.6 million. Gimbel’s alone sold 100,000 pens[4].
The first patent for a ball point pen was issued to John Loud in 1988 (30 October 1988). See a discussion on the concept claimed in the patent. (http://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publications/law_trends_news_practice_area_e_newsletter_home/business_slusky.html )
Manufacturing Process
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Ballpoint-Pen.html
1. http://nraombakc.blogspot.in/2012/10/29-october-knowledge-history-science.html
2. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ballpen.htm
3. http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa101697.htm
4.Robert Sobel, When Giants Stumble: Classic Business Blunders and How to Avoid Them, Prentice-Hall Press, 1999, p.p. viii-xi
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