Slavoljub Eduard Penkala
| Slavoljub Penkala | |
|---|---|
Slavoljub Penkala in 1920
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| Born |
Eduard Pękała 20 April 1871 Liptovský Mikuláš,now Slovakia, before Kingdom of Hungary, Austria–Hungary |
| Died | 5 February 1922 (aged 50) Zagreb, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Nationality | Croat (naturalized) |
| Alma mater | Dresden University of Technology |
| Occupation | Inventor, aviation pioneer, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Inventing the mechanical pencil |
Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (Croatian pronunciation: [slâʋɔʎuːb ɛ̂duard pɛŋkǎːla]) (20 April 1871 - 5 February 1922) was a Croatian engineer and inventor of Dutch-Polish-Jewish descent.
Eduard Penkala was born in Liptovský Mikuláš (in what is now Slovakia), to Franciszek Pękała, who was of Polish heritage, and Maria Pękała (née Hannel), who was of Dutch heritage. He attended the University of Vienna and Technische Universität Dresden, graduating from the latter in 1898 and going on to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry. He then moved with his wife and family to Zagreb (which was then in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, also part of Austria-Hungary) and to mark his loyalty to his new homeland he took on the Croatian name Slavoljub (the equivalent of slavophile), becoming a naturalized Croat.
He became renowned for further development of the mechanical pencil (1906) - then called an "automatic pencil" - and the first solid-ink fountain pen (1907). Collaborating with an entrepreneur by the name of Edmund Moster, he started the Penkala-Moster Company and built a pen-and-pencil factory that was one of the biggest in the world at the time. This company, now called TOZ Penkala, still exists today.
He also constructed the first Croatian aircraft to fly in the country, the 1910 Penkala Monoplane, flown by Dragutin Novak, who was also the first Croatian pilot. He constructed and invented many other products and devices, and held a total of 80 patents.
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