Jean François Champollion

Jean François Champollion (1790-1832), French Egyptologist and founder of modern scientific Egyptology. In 1821 he began his attempt to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. Champollion and the Italian archaeologist Ippolito Rosellini codirected a scientific expedition to Egypt in 1824. Upon their return, the first chair of Egyptian antiquities at the Collège de France was created for Champollion, and he became a member of the French Academy.

The deciphering of the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing on the Rosetta Stone was Champollion's greatest achievement and enabled him to work out the grammar and compile a dictionary of the ancient Egyptian language. Champollion's many writings include Summary of the Hieroglyphic System of the Ancient Egyptians (1824) and the Egyptian Grammar (1836-1841) and Egyptian Dictionary (1842-1843). The last two were published posthumously.