he founded the parker pen company ingansville, wisconsin, in 1888 at the age of 25. one his first patent the very next year. many other non-leak designs were to follow, and parker became one of the world's largest pen manufacturers. even sherlock holmes arthur sir arthur conan doyle sang parker praises. for years it was a family affair. witness this photo of parker and his son kenneth, posing with the the parker pen band in 1925. an aviation enthusiast, he even had a plane decked out in the colors of his duofold model pen. george parker died in 1937 at the age of 73. but his pens lived on. even used to sign both the german and the japanese surrenders at the end of world war ii. in recent years, parker pens has gone through series of ownership changes and relocations. in 2009 the company announced it was closing its janeville plant. still, at least one parker legacy remains in parker pens' hometown. a six bedroom brick home that once belonged to the parker family was purchased in 2010 by the local congressman, paul ryan, who was elected just this house. look at you, s