What was the invention of the crayon?

There is no one inventory for the crayon. The crayon has its roots going back to the time of the Greeks and a method of wax painting called encaustic. From there, pastel sticks of pure pigment, color chalk and colored pencils where wax substituted for the graphite all play a role in formulating the creation of the modern crayon. Conte' crayons originated in the late 1700s and also played a role because they were one of the first "sticks" to not need a fixative to ensure the colors stayed as applied. Later Lithographers used wax crayons for their trade. Eventually companies like Couleurs out of Paris and other European companies began to develop crayons using toxic materials. In the USA, the Franklin Mfg. Company began producing industrial crayons in 1876 and later in the 1880s and 1890s created wax crayon in attractive packages exactly like the modern crayon of today. Other companies quickly joined in. Charles Bowley, Boston, MA did the same in the late 1880s and when production exceeded his ability to keep up, he partnered with the American Crayon Company who debuted his line of crayons in 1902. Standard Crayon Company started making wax crayons in the late 1890s. Joseph Dixon and Milton Bradley both made artist pressed crayons in the late 1890s as well. All of the major pencil manufacturers dabbled in crayons prior to 1903 as well (Eberhard Faber, Eagle Pencil, American Lead Pencil, Dixon). In 1903, Binney & Smith came along with the Crayola brand and through their quality and use of consistent look to their line of crayons they became synonymous with the word "crayon" and later dominated the industry. They currently are run as Crayola, LLC. and are the largest manufacturer of crayons worldwide.