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3000 BCE
The Reed Pen
Reed pens were used by Ancient Egyptians around 400 BCE. These were among the first pens used by humans. These pens were made by taking long strips of the reed plant and splitting the ends to hold the ink. However, these pens were very fragile and didn't last long meaning that the process of creating these pens were very precise and there was very little room for error. http://www.historyofpencils.com/writing-instruments-history/history-of-reed-pen/ -
1300 BCE
The Stylus Pen
The Romans used wax slates to write on and had to create a pen that was compatible. Then the stylus pen was created which was made of metal and could erase mistakes. Asian style stylus pens were made of bronze. http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/123138-stylus-quill-and-pen-short-history-on-writing-instruments/ -
600 BCE
The Quill Pen
The quill pen was made from feathers of animals such as turkeys, geese, and swans. Feathers would be pulled from these animals and would go through a thorough process to make the feather able to write. They would dip the tip of the feather in hot ashes and then let it cool off and harden. If the process went well, these quill pens would not need to be sharpened again. These pens were used up until the 1800's. https://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Winter07/lettersSide.cfm -
The Fountain Pen
The first fountain pen was invented by Lewis Waterman in 1884. He noticed a problem in old pens which was that they had no control over how much ink would by excreted which caused leaking. After experimenting with his brother, these pens could be made from materials as simple as wood to expensive materials like gold and silver. http://www.historyofpencils.com/writing-instruments-inventors/lewis-waterman/ -
The Ballpoint Pen
In the summer of 1943, a man by the name of László József Bíró perfected the ballpoint pen and patented it. This pen was proven to function a lot better than fountain pens at high altitudes. In 1945, a ballpoint was created that could write underwater. http://inventionshowcase.com/inventorslaszlobirobio.htm
