Educator, Inventor. He was a British educator during the 19th century, who was the developer of the Pitman Shorthand Method. After graduating from teacher's college, he taught for 11 years before opening his own school in Bath. Using phonetics, he was an advocate for spelling reform for the English language. When he was a teacher of English at Barton-upon-Humber in Linconshire, he developed his shorthand method based on phonetic language. At one time, the Pitman Shorthand Method was the most commonly used shorthand system in the English speaking world and was adapted to several other languages. It was simpler and more practical than any other shorthand in existence. In 1886 he went into the publishing business with his two sons, Alfred and Ernest. The business became a leading educational publisher and also published some of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories, novels and articles. Religiously, he was a follower of the mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, publishing literature on the sect. He was a vegetarian diet and abstinence from alcohol. In 1894 he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his contribution to shorthand. He married twice. As a widower, he married Isabella Masters in 1861, and the couple had two sons. Upon his wishes, his body was cremated. According to the 2013 article in the "Times," his ashes were not buried in Bath.
Educator, Inventor. He was a British educator during the 19th century, who was the developer of the Pitman Shorthand Method. After graduating from teacher's college, he taught for 11 years before opening his own school in Bath. Using phonetics, he was an advocate for spelling reform for the English language. When he was a teacher of English at Barton-upon-Humber in Linconshire, he developed his shorthand method based on phonetic language. At one time, the Pitman Shorthand Method was the most commonly used shorthand system in the English speaking world and was adapted to several other languages. It was simpler and more practical than any other shorthand in existence. In 1886 he went into the publishing business with his two sons, Alfred and Ernest. The business became a leading educational publisher and also published some of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories, novels and articles. Religiously, he was a follower of the mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, publishing literature on the sect. He was a vegetarian diet and abstinence from alcohol. In 1894 he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his contribution to shorthand. He married twice. As a widower, he married Isabella Masters in 1861, and the couple had two sons. Upon his wishes, his body was cremated. According to the 2013 article in the "Times," his ashes were not buried in Bath.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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"His aims were steadfast, his mind original, his work prodigious, the achievement worldwide. His life was ordered in service to God and duty to man."
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