Voting Station

Isaac Pitman

Please vote to return to collections.

Inventor

The Resume

    (January 4, 1813-January 12, 1897)
    Born in Trowbridge, England, United Kingdom
    Developed Pitman shorthand
    Described his system in 'Stenographic Soundhand' (1837)
    Founded the publishing and business training company Isaac Pitman and Sons
    Knighted (1894)

Why he might be annoying:

    His first wife was 20 years older than him, while his second wife was 12 years his junior.
    He was a proponent of phonetic spelling, even using it on his first wife's tombstone. ('In memori ov Meri Pitman...')
    He was a teetotaling vegetarian.
    In the US, Pitman shorthand was surpassed in popularity by John Robert Gregg's system.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was fired from a teaching job for becoming a follower of Emmanuel Swedenborg.
    He popularized his shorthand system through the first correspondence courses.
    Pitman shorthand was a major timesaver for reporters and secretaries.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying