Eliza Boardman Burnz

Eliza Boardman Burnz (31 October 1823 - 19 June 1903)[1] was a nineteenth century American shorthand inventor and promoter. Her simplified alphabet, arranged in the basis of Isaac Pitman's Phonography, was the subject of Mark Twain's essay A Simplified Alphabet.

Eliza Boardman Burnz
Born(1823-10-31)31 October 1823
Essex, England
Died19 June 1903(1903-06-19) (aged 79)
Reading, Pennsylvania
OccupationInventor, educator
Signature

Biography

She was born Eliza Boardman in Essex, England; her parents were John Boardman and Anna Thomason.[2] She moved with her family to the United States in 1837.[2] She was married twice and had four children.[2]

As a librarian and the "mother" of women stenographers, Burnz championed spelling reform and founded the Burnz' Fonic Shorthand in 1869. Burnz claimed no originality in its method, as it was based on Isaac Pitman's method, which she had become familiar with in 1846. The Burnz system's best feature was its ability to enable the writer to write with legibility and speed. In 1872, she began teaching shorthand at Cooper Union and the Young Women's Christian Association.[2]

Burnz was a suffragist[2] and promoted Dianism, a sexual practice which permits sexual contact without ejaculation.[3][4]

Burnz died 19 June 1903 at Walters Park Sanitarium near Reading, Pennsylvania.[5][6][7]

Bibliography
  • Burnz' phonic shorthand, for schools, business writing and reporting. Arranged on the basis of Isaac Pitman's "Phonography".
  • Pure phonics for home and kindergarten; short essays which present the need and method of teaching the elementary sounds of the English language to children before they are taught to read script or print

References
  1. In memoriam, Eliza Boardman Burnz, born, October 31, 1823, deceased, June 19, 1903. Printed in Roman type and in fonic-shorthand.
  2. Willard, Frances E., and Mary A. Livermore, eds. A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Moulton, 1893, p. 161.
  3. Burnz, Eliza Boardman (7 August 1883). "Burnz' Phonic Shorthand for Schools, Business Writing and Reporting: Arranged on the Basis of Isaac Pitman's "Phonography"". Burnz & Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  4. Tolstoy, graf Leo (7 August 1886). "Works". Colonial Press. Retrieved 7 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  5. Burnz, Eliza Boardman; Burnz, Channing (1 January 1906). In memoriam, Eliza Boardman Burnz, born, October 31, 1823, deceased, June 19, 1903. Printed in Roman type and in fonic-shorthand. New York : Burnz & Co.
  6. Ohles, John F. (1 January 1978). Biographical Dictionary of American Educators. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313040122.
  7. "Eliza Boardman Burnz". The Allentown Leader. 24 June 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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