How Did Lewis Waterman Build The Fountain Pen

The creation of the fountain pen is one of the most important literary inventions since the printing press. It allowed people to write on paper with ease. But just like any other great invention, many tries and many fails were made till the finished product was created. The first person to make a successfully functioning pen would be Lewis E. Waterman. He was born on November 20th, 1837. Lewis barely had an education, he was in school for only five years. After that he had many different jobs. Including, a carpenter, teacher, and insurance broker. In New York, 1883, Waterman was soon going to sign an important paper. As an insurance broker, he wanted a better pen to sign with. So he made a pen that would write neatly, and wouldn’t leak. It was a hit. On February 12th 1884, he got a patent for his successful design.

But before the fountain pen, there were many other inventions in writing. In the year 2697 BC, Tien-Lcheu, a philosopher and inventor, mixed the soot of pinewood and the oil in burning lamps to make a dark liquid for writing, ink. The very first writing documented was around 4000 BC. Man could scratch clay with a bone, or bronze tool. Around 3000 BC, the Egyptians developed a form of writing with pictures, they would use thin reed brushes or reed pens to wright on papyrus. In 1300 BC Romans had developed a form of writing too, they scribed into thin sheets of wax with a metal stylus. Then in 600-1800 AD, the Europeans found that writing with a quill pen on parchment changed their style of writing. After that in the 1790s lead pencils were invented in France, and Australia. German inventor, Daniel Schwenter, also described a pen made from two quills. The first served as a reservoir for the ink. The other was filled with ink and sealed with cork. A metal point was patented in 1803 but was not commercially used, and quill usage was fading.