John Robert Gregg first publishes Gregg shorthand in the United States

Background. John Robert Gregg (17 June 1867 – 23 February 1948) was an Irish-born American educator, publisher, and inventor, best known as the creator of Gregg shorthand. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States, where he spent most of his professional life teaching, writing, and promoting methods of efficient written communication. Initially, he taught an adaptation of Duployan shorthand for English, a system predominant in France and characterized by uniform stroke thickness and attached vowel representation.

Publication. In 1888, Gregg published his own system, copyrighted as Light Line Phonography, in England. This initial publication was in a primal stage. The system's design, featuring elliptical figures and lines that bisect them, was intended to enhance writing speed and legibility compared to the Duployan system.

Design. Gregg shorthand is distinguished by its cursive strokes that blend smoothly, avoiding sharp angles. It includes unique symbols for sounds like 'th', contrasting with the dotted 't' used in Duployan systems, which resulted in slower writing. This design facilitated smooth, cursive strokes without the angular outlines characteristic of earlier systems.