Trying to invent a pen which can write on leather, a tanner John J.

Loud
invented the first ballpoint pen and patented it in 1888 in America. This
pen had a small steel ball which was placed so it could not fall out nor
fall in but it still could rotate freely. This invention was not commercially
viable and could not be used for writing. Because of that patent lapsed in
time.

After that, many tried to improve on the design but did not deliver the
ink evenly or overflow and clog the pint. In the early 20th century, László
Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor, tried to make a pen that would dry
quickly and without smudges. He noticed that ink used in newspaper
printing dried quickly so he and his brother György, who was a chemist,
started experimenting on a workable pen. They combined viscous ink
and ball-socket mechanism to make a ballpoint pen that would not allow
for an ink to dry out in pen but it would still leave the mark behind when
used. The first working ballpoint pen was presented at Budapest
International Fair in 1931. They filed for patents in France and Britain in
1938. In 1941 Bíró brothers and a their friend, Juan Jorge Meyne fled to
Argentina and opened there Bíró Pens of Argentina - factory that made
ballpoint pens and sold them in Argentina as “Birome”. This ballpoint
pen was licensed and made in Britain as a “Biro” for RAF aircrews which
used it at high altitudes (fountain pens used to leak ink when used too
high).