THE HISTORY OF MODERN STENOGRAPHY
by
Lorraine Northway
| 1551 | Timothy Bright born |
| 1588 | Timothy Bright's "Characterie; An Arte of Shorte, Swifte and Secrete Writing by Character" published and he received a patent for his shorthand system from Queen Elizabeth |
| 1602 | John Willis' "Art of Stenography" published |
| 1627? | John Willis believed to have died |
| 1646 | William Mason's "LA Plume Volante" published |
| 1692 | John Byrom born |
| 1724 | Byrom elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts |
| 1742 | Byrom's shorthand system copyrighted |
| 1749 | Samuel Taylor born |
| 1750 | Thomas Guerney's "Brachygraphy" printed in Manchester |
| 1767 | John Byrom's "Universal English Shorthand" published in Manchester 4 years after his death |
| 1772 | Thomas Guerney appointed by the English Government as its first official shorthand writer |
| 1786 | Samuel Taylor's "An essay intended to establish standard for an universal system of stenography" published in London |
| 1791 | Samuel Morse born in America |
| 1811 | Samuel Taylor believed to have died |
| 1813 | Isaac Pitman born in Trowbridge |
| 1822 | Benn Pitman born |
| 1823 | William Harding revised Taylor's system |
| 1829 | Isaac Pitman took up Samuel Taylor's shorthand |
| 1837 | Isaac Pitman "Stenography Sound-Hand" published. Pitman shorthand became the ever first subject taught by correspondence |
| 1839 | The First Phonetic Institute opened at No 5 Nelson Place, Bath by Isaac Pitman |
| 1840 | The second edition of Pitman's "Stenography Sound-Hand" published and by the end of the year the third edition was on the shelves |
| 1842 | The "Phonographic Journal No 1" went on sale (now the Pitman's Phonetic Journal) |
| 1843 | The Phonographic Correspondence Society established in the United Kingdom |
| 1844 | Morse demonstrated to Congress the practicality of the telegraph by transmitting the famous message "What hath God wrought" over a wire from Washington to Baltimore |
| 1845 | Isaac Pitman established his first printing press |
| 1846 | "A Phonographic Dictionary of the English Language" the first ever Pitman dictionary published, containing 12,000 outlines |
| 1851 | The Second Phonetic Institute opened by Pitman at Upper Bristol Road, Bath. Isaac Pitman won a bronze medal at the Great Exhibition for his printed shorthand |
| 1852 | Benn Pitman arrived in America and introduced Pitman shorthand. Benn Pitman established the Phonographic Institute of Cincinnati |
| 1854 | Benn Pitman's "The Reporters Companion" published |
| 1855 | Benn Pitman's "The Manual of Phonography" published. Pitman's Third Phonetic Institute opened at Parsonage Lane, Bath. The first Shorthand Speed Certificates issued by the Phonetic Institute in Bath |
| 1857 | The revised vowel scale introduced by Isaac Pitman but not adapted by many American writers. J Graham's "Brief Longhand" published in America |
| 1862 | Duplicate hook fr, vr, thr, Thr and large hooks for fl, vl, shl, ml, nl introduced by Isaac Pitman |
| 1864 | The Royal Society of Arts began shorthand examinations |
| 1865–7 | Benn Pitman led a team of 5 stenographers at the trial of President Lincoln's assassin |
| 1867 | wl and lr introduced to the Pitman system. John Robert Gregg born on 17 June in Shantonaugh, County Managhan, Ireland. Benn Pitman's "The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators" published |
| 1869 | kw introduced into the Pitman system |
| 1870 | The Pitman's Metropolitan School opened in London |
| 1872 | Seventeen enthusiastic writers of Pitman's shorthand established the Phonetic Shorthand Writers Association in Great Britain |
| 1873 | wh added to the Pitman system |
| 1874 | Pitman's Forth Phonetic Institute opened at Nos 6 & 7 Kingston Buildings in the Abbey Churchyard, Bath |
| 1879 | Miles Bartholomew received a patent in America for the first shorthand machine |
| 1884 | The double-length principal extended the Pitman system. The "Pitman v Hine copyright action. The "Acropolis of Athens" depicting 4th century BC Greek shorthand discovered in Athens |
| 1886 | Pitman went into partnerships with his sons Alfred and Ernest to form Isaac Pitman & Sons. The first million copies of the "Phonographic Teacher" sold in Great Britain |
| 1887 | Pitman's large initial circle sw adopted. The tercentenary of Timothy Bright. The Golden Jubilee of Pitman shorthand. |
| 1888 | The 28 paged "Light – Line Phonography", the first ever Gregg's shorthand book published in Great Britain. Pitman shorthand became an examinable subject for secondary schools with the Oxford Local Examining Board. |
| 1889 | Pitman shorthand first recognised by the British Government in the "Technical Instruction Act’. |
| 1890 | Pitman shorthand included in the British School Code. National Phonographic Society formed. |
| 1892 | The "Pitman's Shorthand Weekly" established |
| 1893 | John Gregg opened his first school in Great Britain. Gregg moved to the United States of America. Gregg's "Light- Line Phonography" first published in the Untied States of America |
| 1894 | Isaac Pitman knighted by Queen Victoria |
| 1895 | Sir Isaac Pitman retired and his eldest son, Alfred took over the family business |
| 1897 | Sir Isaac Pitman died on 22 January in Bath. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons commissioned a special building to house the Pitman's Metropolitan School. |
| 1898 | Phonetic Shorthand Writers Association and the National Phonographic Society merged to become The Incorporated Phonographic Society. The new Pitman's Metropolitan School building opened in London. |
| 1899 | Gregg Publishing Co established. The National Shorthand Reporters Association formed in Chicago in August. The Dutch system of shorthand "Groote" introduced by A W Groote. |
| 1900 | John Gregg started to edit "Gregg's Writer’. The "Century" edition of Pitman shorthand published. |
| 1901 | Pitman's Phonetic Institute extended |
| 1902 | "Sir Isaac Pitman: His Life and Labours" by Benn Pitman and Alfred Baker published. "Gregg's Shorthand’, a revised version of "Light-Line" published in America, |
| 1904 | "Sir Isaac Pitman 1813 – 1897- A Biographical Sketch" first published. |
| 1906 | The first commercially feasible stenography machine invented by Ward Stone Ireland |
| 1908 | James Hill born near Bradford. |
| 1909 | The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) organised the first National Speed Contest for shorthand in America. |
| 1910 | Benn Pitman died in America |
| 1913 | The introduction of the Stenotype machine into the US court system |
1920 | Gregg edited "American Shorthand Teacher" which would later become "Business Education World" in 1933. |
| 1921 | The Pitman Commercial Examinations Department established at the Phonetic Institute. |
| 1922 | The "New Era" edition of Pitman shorthand published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. A world record of 350 words per minute achieved by American Nathan Behrin during a 2 minute test using the Pitman system. |
| 1924 | Emma Dearborn devised a Speed Writing System in the USA. |
| 1929 | The 50th anniversary of Gregg's shorthand system. Gregg's frequency-of-words method introduced |
| 1932 | The "Hy-Speed Longhand" first published in America. |
| 1940 | Gregg's "New Rapid Course" introduced to simplify the system for those attending evening classes and day schools. |
| 1948 | John Robert Gregg died. McGraw Hill acquired the rights to all his work. |
| 1949 | "Stenograph" registered as a trademark in the USA. |
| 1950 | Leon Sheff revised the Dearborn Speed Writing system. Forkner's shorthand introduced in the USA |
| 1951 | The National Council for the Training of Journalists established in Great Britain |
| 1952 | In America the NCRA organised the first National Speed Competition for machine shorthand writers. James Hill experimented with his new shorthand system at Grantham College. |
| 1956 | Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd turned down the chance to publish James Hill's new system of shorthand. |
| 1963 | The Diamond Jubilee of Gregg's shorthand. |
| 1968 | The first public demonstration of Teeline shorthand. |
| 1969 | "Basic Teeline: A Textbook of Fast Writing" published by Heinemann |
| 1970 | The Pitman Collection transferred from Pitman Publishing Ltd to Bath University |
| 1971 | The Inaugural meeting of the Teeline Association |
| 1972 | "Teeline Advanced" and "Basic Common Word List" published in September. |
| 1973 | "Advanced Practice Exercises" published for Teeline |
| 1974 | Pitman introduced a new non-court based system called Pitman 2000 |
| 1975 | Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons reincorporated as Pitman Ltd |
| 1978 | In America "Gregg's Series 90" introduced by McGraw Hill to mark the 90th anniversary of the Gregg's system. |
| 1982 | Pitman Ltd become a public limited company. |
| 1985 | The Pitman Examination Institute sold to the Longman Group. |
| 1987 | First examinations for all systems offered by Teeline Education Ltd. |
| 1997 | Bath Press Group Ltd (formerly part of Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd) reprinted "Sir Isaac Pitman 1813 – 1897- A Biographical Sketch" to mark the 100th anniversary of Sir Isaac Pitman's death. |
| 2000 | A trademark case bought by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd against Pitman Education. & Training Ltd over the use of the word "Pitman" in connection of examinations. |
