Marcel Bich

Italian-born French manufacturer and entrepreneur, founder and director of the Bic Company from 1950 to 1993, when he passed on the reins to his son Bruno. He was the inventor of the Bic ball-point pen, disposable lighter and razor.

Born an aristocrat, the Baron Marcel Bich began a fountain-pen company in 1950 with a partner, Edouard Buffard. He decided to improve on the method of fabrication of a ball-point pen (invented by Hungarian Laslo Biro) and soon introduced this revolutionary product on the market. Later on that same year, he met Pierre Guichenné, president of an advertising firm. Guichenne convinced Bich to drop the ‘’h’’ in his name and use Bic as a universal trademark. The results of the 1951-1952 advertising campaign organized by Guichenné were phenomenal with Bic selling over 200,000 pens each day!

In 1954 Bic branches were created in Italy and Brazil; in 1957 the company bought Biro Swan Ltd in England and in 1958 took control of the Waterman Pen Company in the U.S. An important breakthrough came on 3 September 1965, when the students in France were authorized to use the pen. Several take-overs were orchestrated in the following years, one of the last major one being the Sheaffer Group in 1997.

A passionate sailor, Bich participated in four America Cup events. He made a third marriage on 26 June 1956 and fathered 11 children. He died on 30 May 1994 at age 79 in Paris.