"When Was The Pencil Invented?"

Of course, many people really don't know the exact date - even your history teacher won't know either. However, here is some reference for you to learn.

According a source on the invention of the pencil, the archetypal pencil may have been the ancient Roman stylus, which was a thin metal stick, often made of lead and used for scratching on papyrus. The word 'pencil' comes from the Latin word pencillus which means "little tail."

Some time prior to 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of graphite was discovered at the site of Seathwaite Fell near Borrowdale, Cumbria, England.

Who Invented The Pencil?

The locals found that it was very useful for marking sheep. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sewn into sticks. This was and remains the only deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form.

Chemistry was in its infancy and the substance was thought to be a form of lead. Consequently, it was called plumbago (Latin for "lead ore"). The black core of pencils is still sometimes referred to as "pencil lead", even though it never contained the element lead.

The value of graphite was soon realized to be enormous, mainly because it could be used to line the moulds for cannon balls, and the mines were taken over by the Crown and guarded.

Graphite had to be smuggled out for use in pencils. Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of case. Graphite sticks were at first wrapped in string or in sheepskin for stability. The news of the usefulness of these early pencils spread far and wide, attracting the attentions of artists all over the "known world."

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