Marcel Bich was born in Turin, Italy, on 29 July 1914 to Aime-Mario Bich and Marie Muffat de Saint-Amour de Chanaz.
14 Facts About Marcel Bich
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Marcel Bich's family moved to Spain and then to France where he was naturalised as a French citizen in 1932 and later studied law at the University of Paris.
3.
Marcel Bich served in the French Air Force at the outset of World War II.
4.
The Bich family originated at Chatillon, and earlier in the Valtournenche valley, in the Aosta Valley.
5.
Emmanuel's grandson Aime-Mario Bich, the father of Marcel Bich, was an engineer who moved to France after failing to gain commercial success in Italy.
6.
Marcel Bich was originally a skeptic of ballpoint pens, which at the time were unreliable and leaked.
7.
Marcel Bich bought the patent for the ballpoint pen for US$2 million from Hungarian Laszlo Biro who had been producing such pens since 1943 in Argentina.
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Marcel Bich then invented the famous four-color pen in 1969.
9.
Marcel Bich partnered with poster designer Raymond Savignac to create the company's advertisements, who created the Bic Boy that later became part of the company's official logo.
10.
Marcel Bich formed by Bich still exists as the Societe Bic Group and is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and majority-owned by his family.
11.
Marcel Bich stepped down as Chairman of Societe Bic in 1993.
12.
Marcel Bich was succeeded by his son, Bruno, who served as chairman for 25 years, 15 of which as CEO.
13.
Marcel Bich funded four campaigns to compete in the trials to select a challenger for the America's Cup in 1970,1974,1977 and 1980, and was inducted, posthumously, into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1998.
14.
Marcel Bich was survived by his wife, Laurence Courier de Mere, 11 children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.