Thomas Gurney (1705–1770) was an early English shorthand-writer and developer of shorthand style used by Charles Dickens.
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Early life
Gurney was born at Woburn, Bedfordshire, on 7 March 1705. His father, John, though of an ancient family (his descent is traced in the "Record of the House of Gournay"), belonged to the yeoman class, and was a substantial miller with a large family. Thomas was intended for a farmer, but his inclination for books and mechanics was so decided, that when put to farming he ran away twice.
He then learned clockmaking, and soon afterwards became a schoolmaster at Newport Pagnell and Luton.
His connection with shorthand was brought about accidentally. In order to obtain a work on astrology, about which he had a boyish curiosity, he purchased at a sale a lot containing an edition of William Mason's "Shorthand," which he studied to such purpose that at the age of 16 he began to take down sermons. His notebook of 1722–3 is still preserved, and shows that at that time he used Mason's system with very little alteration.