John Angell (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1758), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

professional

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...

writer. Angell was from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and professor of the art there.

Works

Angell published in 1758 ''Stenography, or Shorthand Improved; being the most compendious, lineal, and easy method hitherto extant. ... By John Angell, who has practised his art above 30 years'', London, 1758. It contained a historical preface; it was commonly ascribed to

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, though it had no trace of his style, and borrowed from the work of

Philip Gibbs Sir Philip Armand Hamilton Gibbs KBE (1 May 1877 – 10 March 1962) was an English journalist and prolific author of books who served as one of five official British reporters during the First World War. Four of his siblings were also write ...

. Angell on one occasion visited Johnson, who was not favourably impressed with his abilities as a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. ‘Mr. Samuel Johnson, A.M., London,’ was a

subscribe The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...

r to Angell's work. It was favourably commended to the public in 1770, by the

Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, presided over by the

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

. There was a second edition in 1782, sold by M. Angell in

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

Passage,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

; and the method reached a fourth edition (without date), sold by the same publisher. Angell's shorthand, based on the lines more successfully followed up by Thomas Gurney, was never very popular. It is a variation of the system of

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

. Angell was also the author of an ''Essay on Prayer'' (London, 1761), with specimens of

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

s of several eminent

dissenting minister A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

s in London, taken by the editor in shorthand.

References

;Attribution Year of birth missing Year of death missing Irish religious writers 18th-century Irish writers 18th-century Irish male writers Writers from Dublin (city) {{Ireland-writer-stub