Lewis Waterman Research Paper

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Lewis Waterman patented the first practical fountain pen in the year 1884. Writing instruments designed to carry their own supply of ink had existed for more than one hundred years before Waterman's patent. For example, the oldest known fountain pen that has survived today was designed by a Frenchmen named M. Bion and dated back to 1702. Peregrin Williamson, a Baltimore shoemaker, received the first American patent for a pen in 1809. John Scheffer received a British patent in year 1819 for his half quill, half metal pen that he attempted to mass manufacture. John Jacob Parker had patented the first self-filling fountain pen in 1831. However, early fountain pen models were plagued by ink spills and other failures that left them impractical and very hard to sell. The design of the fountain pen came after thousands of years of using quill-pens. Early inventors observed the hollow channel of a bird's feather and tried to produce a similar man-made pen that would hold more ink and not require constant dipping into the ink well. …show more content…
Waterman was an American inventor and insurance salesman. Waterman was also the first to place a clip on the cap of the pen. Waterman was an interesting man. Leaving school at sixteen he worked as a carpenter, a publishing agent, a shorthand teacher. However, by the age of 43 he was settled as an insurance salesman, when confronted with a problem, adversity turned to advantage. When he was faced with a little technical problem with his pen, he was set to finding a solution. Working with his brother Elijah to help build a series of prototype tubes that they channeled to varying shapes, the pair eventually came up with a design that worked by balancing the effects of gravity and capillary action to allow the proper amount of ink to flow downwards. He filed a patent application in March 1883 and it was granted, on 12th February 1884. L.E. Waterman was ready to go set up his business in New York. Lewis assembled the pens