Penkala's life

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, one of the most significant inventors at the turn of century, was born on April 28, 1871. He completed studies at the Universities of Vienna and Dresden, receiving a diploma from the Royal Technical College in Dresden on March 25, 1898, and wrote his doctoral dissertation in field of organic chemistry.

Slavoljub Penkala held over seventy patents in the fields of mechanics, chemistry, physics, aeronautics etc. In 1903, he patented the hot water bottle in Budapest. At the same time, he was working on the mechanical pencil and fountain pen. On January 24, 1906, he received the patent for the first mechanical pencil in the world from the Royal Patent Office in Budapest. Then following that, on May 7, 1907, received the patent for the first fountain pen using solid ink.

Penkala fountain pens, ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils are exported to over seventy countries world-wide. Since 1911, the factory has grown from 300 employees to 800 between 1912 and 1926, and was one of the largest manufacturers of writing implements in the world at that time.

Together with the thriving Pekala-Moster Company, Slavoljub Penkala was also engaged in the field of aeronautics. In 1907, he registered a patent for the basic layout of the helicopter. On December 10, 1909 he registered a patent for his own aircraft which he ended up building in Croatia, leading to the first airfield in Croatia being constructed.

However, amidst his efforts to Develop industry in the territory of the city of Zagreb and throughout Croatia, Slavoljub Penkala died suddenly on February 5, 1922, after returning from a business trip with pneumonia. Thus ended the life of great inventor at the age of fifty-one.