More history and information on: pencils, pens, erasers, pencils, pencil sharpeners, ballpoint pens, and more. No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise when he had - Samuel Johnson. A Hungarian journalist named Laszlo Biro invented the first ballpoint pen in 1938.Biro had noticed that the type of ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free.his principle of the ballpoint pen actually dates back to an 1888 patent owned by John J. Loud for a product to mark leather. However, this patent was commercially unexploited. Laszlo Biro first patented his pen in 1938, and applied for a fresh patent in Argentina on June 10, 1943.