Isaac Pitman

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Sir Isaac Pitman (January 4, 1813 – January 12, 1897), knighted in 1894, developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman Shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. Pitman was a qualified teacher and taught at a private school he founded in Wotton-under-Edge. He was the vice president of the Vegetarian Society. He was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire in England.

Isaac Pitman is the grandfather of Sir James Pitman, famous for developing the Initial Teaching Alphabet.

In the 1851 census he appears in Bath aged 38 with what is given as his wife, Mary, who is aged 58 and born in Newark Notts. He married Isabella Masters in 1861 and he appears in the 1871 census, aged 58 with his new wife Isabella aged 46. In the 1881 census he is listed as Eisak Pitman (an interesting phoenetic translation of his name, given his occupation!) By the 1891 census he is back as Isaac, but his birthplace has moved to Bath.

His memorial plaque on the north wall of Bath Abbey reads, "His aims were steadfast, his mind original, his work prodigious, the achievement world-wide. His life was ordered in service to God and duty to man."

[edit] Quotes

• "Well-arranged time is the surest mark of a well-arranged mind."
• "I have no intention of becoming a shorthand author."

[edit] References

• Pitman, Sir Isaac (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online