Addy, William (bap. 1618
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Article
Addy, William (bap. 1618?, d. 1695?), stenographer and writing-master
Frances Henderson
Article
Angell, John (d. 1764), stenographer
Page Life
Angell, John (d. 1764), stenographer, of Chichester, Sussex, was possibly the son of John Angell (d. 1754). He became a feltmaker or hatter in St Clement Danes parish, Westminster, London. Like Thomas Gurney, official reporter to the Old Bailey, Angell learned the shorthand system of ...
Article
Arkisden, Thomas (1608/9–1682), Church of England clergyman and writer of shorthand
Thompson Cooper
revised by John Considine
Arkisden, Thomas (1608/9–1682), Church of England clergyman and writer of shorthand, was probably born in Essex or Suffolk, one, probably the elder, of the two children of Thomas Arkisden, a minor landowner, and his wife, Francis, née Durrant. After his father's death, his guardian was his '...
Article
Austin, John (b. 1752, d. before 1838), music stenographer and inventor of a power-loom
Page Life
Austin, John (b. 1752, d. before 1838), music stenographer and inventor of a power-loom, was born at Craigton, near Glasgow, on 17 April 1752, the son of the gardener to John Baird, esquire. Nothing is known of Austin's early life or education. On 30 May 1777 he married ...
Article
Blanchard, William Isaac (bap. 1741?, d. 1796), stenographer and legal writer
Page Life
Blanchard, William Isaac (bap. 1741
Article
Botley, Samuel (1640/41–1677), stenographer
Frances Henderson
Botley, Samuel (1640/41–1677), stenographer, was a son of Robert Botley, citizen of London and cordwainer. The year of his birth has been calculated from the engraved portrait by William Dolle in the first edition of the shorthand manual for which Botley is chiefly remembered, ...
Article
Bridges, Noah (fl. 1643–1662), stenographer and mathematician
Thompson Cooper
revised by H. K. Higton
Bridges, Noah (fl. 1643–1662), stenographer and mathematician, was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and acted as clerk of the parliament which sat in that city in 1643 and 1644. He was created bachelor of civil law on 17 June 1646, 'being at that time esteemed a most faithful subject to his majesty...
Article
Bright, Timothy (1549/50–1615), physician and writer on shorthand
Page Life
Bright, Timothy (1549/50–1615), physician and writer on shorthand, was the son of William Bright (d. 1592), possibly the William Bright who was mayor of Cambridge in 1571. Sheffield, Yorkshire, has been given as his birthplace, but Bright himself stated that he was born and educated in ...
Image
Byrom, John (1692–1763)
Maker: Dorning Rasbotham
In
John Byrom (1692–1763) by Dorning Rasbotham © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Byrom, John (1692–1763), poet and creator of a system of shorthand
J. R. Watson
Byrom, John (1692–1763), poet and creator of a system of shorthand, was born on 29 February 1692 at Kersall Cell, Broughton, near Manchester, the second son of Edward Byrom (d. 1711), merchant, and his wife, Sarah Allen. The Byrom family were well known in the district: the ...
Article
Coles, Elisha (c. 1640–1680), lexicographer and stenographer
Page Life
Coles, Elisha (c. 1640–1680), lexicographer and stenographer, the son of John Coles (1623/4–1678), schoolmaster of Wolverhampton grammar school, and his wife, Joyce, was probably born about 1640 in Northamptonshire. He was the nephew of Elisha Coles the Calvinist, and has been often confused with his uncle's son, also ...
Article
Gibbs, Philip (1696–1752), Presbyterian minister and historian of shorthand
Alan Ruston
Gibbs, Philip (1696–1752), Presbyterian minister and historian of shorthand, was born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on 15 February 1696, the son of James Gibbs, a clothier, and his wife, Anne Bailey. His family were prominent presbyterians and lived in Duke Street. Nothing is known of his education except that he began the study of divinity under '...
Article
Gurney, Joseph (1744–1815), stenographer and bookseller
See Gurney, Thomas
Article
Gurney, Joseph (1804–1879), shorthand writer and biblical scholar
Thompson Cooper
revised by Joanna Hawke
Gurney, Joseph (1804–1879), shorthand writer and biblical scholar, was born in Bartlett’s Buildings, Holborn, London on 15 October 1804, the eldest son of William Brodie Gurney (1777–1855), the philanthropist, and his wife, Ann née Benham (1781-1827). He acted as secretary to his first important committee of the ...
Article
Gurney, Thomas (1705–1770), stenographer
Page Life
Gurney, Thomas (1705–1770), stenographer, was born at Woburn, Bedfordshire, on 7 March 1705, the son of John Gurney, a miller, and his wife, Hannah Young. The young Gurney, more interested in scholarly and mechanical arts than in agriculture, twice ran away from home. About 1720 he bid successfully at auction for a book on astrology. The lot also included a popular treatise on the art of shorthand, ...
Article
Gurney, William Brodie (1777–1855), shorthand writer and philanthropist
G. C. Boase
revised by M. Clare Loughlin-Chow
Gurney, William Brodie (1777–1855), shorthand writer and philanthropist, grandson of Thomas Gurney (1705–1770) and brother of Sir John Gurney (1768–1845), was the younger son of Joseph Gurney (1744–1815) [see under Gurney, Thomas] and his wife, a daughter of William Brodie of ...
Article
Hopkins, William (fl. 1674), stenographer and writing master
Page Life
Hopkins, William (fl. 1674), stenographer and writing master, wrote The flying pen-man, or, The art of short-writing by a more easie, exact, compendious, and speedy way (1674), using a system related to those of Thomas Shelton, Jeremiah Rich, and especially Theophilus Metcalfe. Beautifully engraved with ornamental borders and a frontispiece portrait of ...
Article
Lewis, James Henry (1786–1853), stenographer
Page Life
Lewis, James Henry (1786–1853), stenographer, was born in the parish of King's Stanley, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, probably on 20 August 1786, the son of James Lewis, a cloth manufacturer and owner of oil mills, of Ebley, near Stroud, and his wife, Sarah. Little is known of his early years, but it is believed that he learned ...
Article
Lyle, David (fl. 1755–1762), maker of mathematical instruments and stenographer
Thompson Cooper
revised by Philip N. Grover
Lyle, David (fl. 1755–1762), maker of mathematical instruments and stenographer, was the author of a treatise entitled The art of short hand improved, being an universal character adapted to the English language, whereby every kind of subject may be expressed or taken down in a very easy, compendious, and legible manner...
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