Sir Isaac Pitman (January 4, 1813 – January 12, 1897), knighted in 1894, developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. Pitman was a qualified teacher and taught at a private school he founded in Wotton-under-Edge. He was also the vice president of the Vegetarian Society.

He was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire in England. In the 1851 census he appears in Bath aged 38, living with his wife, Mary, aged 58, born in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. He married Isabella Masters in 1861, and he appears in the 1871 census, aged 58, with his new wife Isabella, aged 46. In the 1881 census he is listed as Eisak Pitman - given his occupation, the phonetic spelling is interesting. In the 1891 census he is again listed as Isaac, but his birthplace has moved to Bath.

Isaac Pitman was fervently Swedenborgian. Not only did he read The Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg daily, he also devoted much time and energy to educating the world about them. He published and distributed books and tracts by and about Swedenborg.