Which scholar deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone?

Jean-François Champollion deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone. In 1822, he announced a breakthrough showing that Egyptian hieroglyphic writing represented sounds as well as ideas and objects.

The Rosetta Stone was discovered by French soldiers near the town of Rashid, called Rosetta in English, in 1799. Its inscription presents the same decree in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. Because scholars could read Greek, the stone offered a crucial comparison.

British forces captured the stone in 1801, and it was transferred to the British Museum, where it remains. Champollion built on earlier work by scholars including Thomas Young, who identified important correspondences but did not complete the system.

The breakthrough opened the way to reading ancient Egyptian inscriptions and greatly advanced Egyptology. Champollion's achievement was not a simple translation of one object; it established a wider method for understanding hieroglyphic texts.