Isaac Pitman (1813–97) was an English educationalist and inventor of a shorthand system, published as Stenographic Sound Hand (1837.) Pitman shorthand is still widely used in the U.K. and elsewhere.
Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, Pitman was the brother of Benjamin Pitman, who later popularized Pitman shorthand in the United States.
Initially a clerk in a textile mill, Isaac Pitman entered a training college for teachers (1831.) He taught in elementary schools for 11 years. He was a schoolmaster at Barton-on-Humber (1832–36) and at Wotton-under-Edge, where he issued his Stenographic Sound Hand (1837.) Dismissed from Wotton because he had joined the New Church (Swedenborgian,) he established a Phonetic Institute for teaching shorthand in Bath (1839–43.)
In 1842, Pitman brought out the Phonetic Journal, and in 1845 opened premises in London. He also printed standard works in shorthand, and his book Phonography (1840) went through many editions. He was an enthusiastic spelling reformer and adopted a phonetic system that he tried to bring into general use.
In 1837, Pitman discontinued the use of all alcoholic beverages and became a vegetarian. He was the Vice-President of the Vegetarian Society. The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel in Birmingham, England, is named in his honor.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Isaac Pitman
Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.
—Isaac Pitman
Topics: Time Management, Time
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