Slavoljub Penkala

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (April 20, 1871 - February 5, 1922) was an engineer and inventor from Croatia. Penkala was born in Liptovský Mikuláš in what is now Slovakia, to a Polish/Dutch family. His schooling finished in Vienna and Dresden. Then immigrated with his family to Zagreb subsequently adding "Slavoljub" to his name and becoming a naturalized Croat.

Penkala became renowned for his inventions of the first mechanical pencil(1906),(at the time it was called automatic pencil) and the first solid-ink fountain pen in(1907). Together with an enterpreneur by the name of Edmund Moster, he started a factory of pens and pencils "Penkala-Moster" that was one of the bigger in the world and still exists today "TOZ-Penkala", (TOZ stands for "Tvornica olovaka Zagreb" = "Zagreb pencil factory").

He constructed the first Croatian two-seat aeroplane in 1909, also invented many other products and devices, and has under his name a total of 80 patents. Among his patented inventions are

• hot water bottle (his first patented invention, the "Termofor"),
• type of bluing detergent,
• rail-car brake
• anode battery.

Penkala founded another factory,("Elevator") that produced various chemistry-related items, such as "Radium Vinovica", a patent-medicine-like product sold as curing various forms of rheumatism.

Penkala died rather abruptly in Zagreb after picking up pneumonia on a business trip.

External link

• About Penkala