Court reporting can be traced back to 63 B.C. when a man named Marcus Tullius Tiro worked for Roman philosopher and lawyer Cicero. Tiro took dictation and managed Cicero’s financial matters. In order to transcribe speeches, he developed a system of notation symbols and abbreviations. Tiro’s shorthand system consisted of over 4,000 signs.
This notation system became known as Tironian notes and was later taught in European monasteries during the Medieval period. The notes eventually expanded to over 13,000 signs, but its use declined after 1100 A.D.