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2000 BCE
The Reed Pen
The Ancient Egyptians invented the first writing tool. They created the reed pen, which is made from hollow stems of marsh grasses and would be cut a point on one end and then added writing fluid. -
600
The Quill Pen
In Seville, Spain, the quill pen was created. They made them from feathers, would dry them up with heat to remove oil, sharpen the end of the feather with a knife, and then the end would be dipped into an inkwell. It was easier to use and was durable, but it needed to be sharpened often. Also, this pen has changed the way people write. -
1565
The First Pencil
In 1565, Conrad Gessner made the first pencil, which was graphite in a small piece of wood. Over the years, pencils were improved by a lot. -
Crayons Conte
In the late 1700s, during the French and Indian War, Nicolas-Jacques Conte made the "Crayons Conte". It was a mix of wet clay and graphite, and then sculpted into a rod-like shape and baked. -
The Steel-Point Pen
During this year, John Mitchell made the steel-point pen. They were still ink pens (which needed to be dipped in ink), but they lasted longer, didn't need to be sharpened, and had a finer point. -
The First Mechanical Pencil
Sampson Mordan and John Isaac Hawkins made the first mechanical pencil. Mordan started manufacturing them in his company "S.Mordan Co." until his factory was exploded in WWII. -
The Fountain Pen
Later on, after the steel-point pens were created, Petrache Poenaru thought that there would be a better way of writing things without having to be dipping the pen in ink, and he created the fountain pen. The fountain pen and the steel-point pen look very similar, but the fountain pen has the ink stored in it, instead of having to be dipping it in the ink, but the pen would blot or no ink would come out. -
The Typewriter
In 1868, Christopher Latham invented the typewriter, which had a patent in 1714. It was part of a table, a circular piece of glass, a telegraph key, a piece of carbon paper, and a piano key. Later on, it was improved and it looked very similar to a toy piano. -
The Ballpoint Pen
John H. Loud invented the first ballpoint pen in 1888. It was more durable and could write on different surfaces, but it didn't produce a good flow of ink. Later on in 1938, Laszlo Biro improved the pen. -
The Magic Markers
In 1952, Sidney Rosenthal developed the first markers. It was a glass bottle that holds the ink and had a wool tip. She named it the "Magic Markers" because they were able to write almost on all surfaces.