British businessman, civil servant, publisher, politician & spelling reformer
For the Scottish law lord, see James Pitman, Lord Pitman. For Grandfather of James Pitman, see Isaac Pitman.
Sir James Pitman
KBE
Born
(1901-08-14)August 14, 1901
Kensington
Died
September 1, 1985(1985-09-01) (aged 84)
Kensington
Education
Master of Arts in Modern History
Alma mater
Summer Fields School, Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford
Known for
initial teaching alphabet
Notable work
Alphabets & Reading, the Initial Teaching Alphabet
Political party
Conservative Party
Spouse
Hon. Margaret Beaufort Lawson-Johnston (Order of Mercy)
Children
Margaret Pitman, Michael Ian Pitman, Peter John Pitman, David Christian Pitman
Parents
Ernest Pitman (father)
Frances Pitman née Butler (mother)
Relatives
Siblings: Christian Pitman, Major John Pitman, Honor Isabel Pitman, Diana O. Pitman, Captain Peter Pitman Butler Grandfather: Sir Isaac Pitman
Sir Isaac James Pitman (known as James), KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a publisher, senior civil servant, politician, and prominent educationalist with a lifelong passion for etymology, orthography, and pedagogy. He is best known for his attempt to improve children's literacy in the English-speaking world by means of an interim teaching orthography, known as the initial teaching alphabet or i.t.a. He was honoured with a knighthood in 1961 for his life accomplishments.
James Pitman followed his famous grandfather, Isaac Pitman, by exploring and expanding the pedagogical theories on teaching children to read the English language. Pitman obsessively studied English etymology, alphabets and orthography. He then argued that the overarching cause of reading difficulty in children was the phonetic irregularity of the English language. He compiled and published his analysis in his major work, Alphabets and Reading (1965).
Pitman postulated that if children were taught using an interim orthography consisting of an alphabet and spelling system which were phonetically regular, then they would learn to read quickly and easily and so alleviate the problem of poor literacy which plagued the English-speaking world. He relentlessly exploited his position as a leading politician and prominent educationalist along with the resources and connections from his successful global printing and publishing business to develop and launch the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), which was initially a spectacular success with its use expanding to 4,000 schools in the UK and 17,000 schools worldwide.
Sir Isaac JamesPitman (known as James), KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a publisher, senior civil servant, politician, and prominent educationalist...
Sir Isaac Pitman (4 January 1813 – 22 January 1897) was an English publisher and teacher of the English language who developed the most widely used system...
is a variant of the Latin alphabet developed by Sir JamesPitman (the grandson of Sir Isaac Pitman, inventor of a system of shorthand) in the early 1960s...
Cyrus Clement JamesPitman (born March 24, 1944) is the former Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. Pitman was educated at the Memorial University...
institutions. IHE is governed by a board of directors. The Chair of IHE is JamesPitman. IHE has 75 members: Academy of Contemporary Music Academy of Live Technology...
1931–1945 Preceded by Hon. Charles Baillie-Hamilton Succeeded by Sir JamesPitman Personal details Born (1906-06-09)9 June 1906 Manhattan, New York, U...
Brett Douglas Pitman (born 31 January 1988) is a Jèrriais footballer who plays as a forward for Shaftesbury. He has spent most of his career at AFC Bournemouth...
Herbert John "Bert" Pitman MBE (20 November 1877 – 7 December 1961) was an English Merchant Navy seaman, who was the Third Officer of RMS Titanic when...
in Shaw's will of June 1950, in which provision was made for (Isaac) JamesPitman, with a grant in aid from the Public Trustee, to establish a Shaw Alphabet...
Frederick John Pitman (1832-1906), a Congregational minister, and Maria Elizabeth Pitman (1838-1889), née Brice, Alfred JamesPitman was born Yarrawonga...
The company has three shareholders: Mike Blyth, Director; JamesPitman, Chairman; Andrew Pitman, Managing Director. Sling Aircraft utilizes numerical control...
Newfoundland and Labrador In office 2014–2020 Predecessor Cyrus Clement JamesPitman Successor Samuel Rose Orders Ordination 1987 by Martin Mate Consecration...
Chris Pitman (born November 16, 1961) is an American musician best known for his involvement with the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. A multi-instrumentalist...
1972 Members of the lifeboat crew – 1977 Victor JamesPitman, Second Coxswain – 1978 Victor JamesPitman, Coxswain – 1985 Christopher William Tett, Second...
Basingstoke Patrick Donner Conservative Bassetlaw Fred Bellenger Labour Bath JamesPitman Conservative Batley and Morley Dr Alfred Broughton Labour Battersea North...
(1831–1915), physicist Victor Pasmore (1908–1998), artist and architect Sir JamesPitman (1901–1985), inventor of the Initial Teaching Alphabet Archibald Wavell...
and founder of the Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru) (born 1893) Sir JamesPitman, writer, civil servant and Conservative politician (born 1901) Evelyn...
Global Information