Background
Isaac Pitman was born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on the 4th of January 1813.
Isaac Pitman was born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on the 4th of January 1813.
Isaac Pitman was educated at the local grammar school.
He started in life as a clerk in a cloth factory, but in 1831 he was sent to the Normal College of the British and Foreign School Society in London.
In 1829 Isaac Pitman took up Samuel Taylor's system of shorthand, and from that time he became an enthusiast in developing the art of phonography.
In 1837 he drew up a manual of Taylor's system and offered it to Samuel Bagster (1771 - 1852).
The result was his Stenographic Soundhand (1837).
Bagster's friendship and active help had been secured by Pitman's undertaking to verify the half-million references in the Comprehensive Bible, and he published the inventor's books at a cheap rate, thus helping to bring the system within the reach of all.
His system adapted itself readily to the needs of journalism, and its use revolutionized the work of reporting.
Isaac Pitman was an enthusiastic spelling reformer, and adopted a phonetic system which he tried to bring into general use.
In 1835 Isaac Pitman married a widow.
