Champollion

Jean-François Champollion was a French scholar who, in the 1820s, cracked the code of Egyptian hieroglyphs—an ancient writing system that had been unreadable for centuries. By comparing hieroglyphs with known scripts and the famous Rosetta Stone, which had the same text in Greek and Egyptian symbols, he deciphered how hieroglyphs represented language. This breakthrough allowed us to understand Egypt’s ancient history, culture, and monuments. Champollion is celebrated as the founder of Egyptology, transforming our knowledge of ancient Egypt from mystery into comprehensible history.