Eduard (Slavoljub) Penkala
Eduard (Slavoljub) Penkala (1871-1922), born in Slovakia to a Polish/Dutch family, became naturalized Croat when after his marriage his family immigrated to Zagreb. He invented the mechanical pen in 1906 and fountain pen in 1907 which are bearing his name “penkala” and now they are in everyday use.
Indeed, the name of “penkala” is in use also today for the chemical pen. The patent was registered in thirty-five countries throughout the world.
He was also one of the first constructors of planes (Zagreb, 1910), only seven years after brothers Wright.
His first invention was a resin bottle filled with hot water, called Termofor (hot water bottle), used in bed as “central heating” during cold nights.
Penkala invented a new plastic mass substance called ebonite, and used it for production of gramophone records. He then signed a contract with the Edison-Bell company, England, and a new company Edison-Bell-Penkala Ltd. was founded in Zagreb which started the production of gramophone records based on his original technology.
The Penkala factory in Zagreb in 1912, Branimirova street, had about 300 employees, with canteen, kindergaten, swimming pool, and even a football club Penkala. It was among largest factories for office equipment in the world.
