[2] On his second day of class, John Robert was caught whispering to a schoolmate, which prompted the schoolmaster to hit the two children's heads together.

[3][4] This ultimately led to John Robert unnecessarily being perceived as dull or mentally disabled by his peers, teachers, and family.

[5] On his own, John Robert learned a different shorthand system, that of Samuel Taylor, published in a small book by Odell.

[8] Malone published a system called Script Phonography, of which Gregg asserted a share in authorship was owed to him.

[9] Angered by Malone, Gregg resigned from working with him and, encouraged by his older brother Samuel, published and copyrighted his own system of shorthand in 1888.