Today in Technology History
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December 6
The inventor of the modern pencil died on this date.
Nicolas-Jacques Conté was born in 1755 in the French countryside. He studied both art and physics, and as a young man he made a living by painting portraits for wealthy clients. He also had a practical talent for building and fixing machines.
The French Revolution began in 1789, and since Conté's noble patrons did not fare well in the ensuing bloodbath, he opened a pencil factory. Back then, pencils were made of quality graphite from English mines -- but France was cut off from that supply after the start of the revolution. So Conté invented artificial graphite, combining certain clays with the cheap graphite available locally. Since a similar system is still used, Conté is considered the inventor of the modern pencil. (He also designed a crayon still used by artists, called the "Conté crayon.")
In the mid-1790s, France was ruled by a Committee of Public Safety, which hired Conté to operate a school for military balloonists. Ballooning was still relatively new and imperfect, so in addition to teaching students who were supposed to spy on France's enemies, Conté also attempted to engineer better balloons. While doing that work, he lost his left eye in a hydrogen explosion.
Conté was part of Napoleon's 1798 expedition to Egypt; his technical expertise was vital to the expedition's early successes. He worked on machines and balloons, and he took notes and drew sketches. Conté stayed in Egypt with the hapless troops abandoned by Napoleon (who hurried home to seize power in France). Ultimately, Conté both introduced modern European technology to Egypt and brought some Egyptian techniques back with him to France.
Conté also invented an engraving machine and a new system of lithography, and he helped to start certain French institutions related to the arts and sciences. He died young, on December 6, 1805.
Related links:
Click here for a longer biography of Conté.
Click here to read more about Conté's stay in Egypt.
Click here to see a picture of Conté's balloon class.
Click here to read more about Conté and other pencil innovators.
Click here to read about the pencil company Conté founded.
Click here to read about the scale used for noting pencil hardness or softness.
Click here for much more about pencils.
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