Lewis Edson Waterman (November 18, 1837 – May 1, 1901), born in Decatur, New York, was the inventor of the capillary feed fountain pen and the founder of the Waterman pen company.

    

 

Lewis Edson Waterman founded his company in New York in 1883 with the invention of a new feeder. He used the capillarity principle which allowed air to induce a steady and even flow of ink. Waterman got a patent for his new fountain pens in 1884.

 

Waterman began selling his fountain pens behind a cigar shop and gave his pens a five year guarantee. He opened a factory in Montreal, Canada in 1899, offering a variety of designs. Following his death in 1901, his nephew Frank D. Waterman took the business overseas and increased sales to 350,000 pens per year. After Frank took over, he also renamed the business to Waterman. S. A.

 

Waterman was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.