Jean-François Champollion

23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832

Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832) was a French philologist and orientalist, celebrated as the founding figure of Egyptology. Building on the Rosetta Stone, he announced the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822, demonstrating that the script combined phonetic and ideographic signs. He later led a scientific expedition to Egypt and held the first chair of Egyptian history and archaeology at the Collège de France.

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Life events

Born in Figeac, France
23 December 1790

Jean-François Champollion was born in the town of Figeac in southwestern France, the youngest son of a bookseller.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied Oriental languages in Paris
1807 – 1809

Champollion moved to Paris to study Arabic, Coptic, Persian and other Oriental languages under scholars including Silvestre de Sacy.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed assistant professor of history at Grenoble
1809

At the age of 18, Champollion received a teaching post in history at the university in Grenoble.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Rosine Blanc
December 1818

Champollion married Rosine Blanc of Grenoble, with whom he had a daughter, Zoraïde.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Announced the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs in the Lettre à M. Dacier
27 September 1822

Champollion presented his breakthrough on reading hieroglyphic script to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Published the Précis du système hiéroglyphique
1824

Champollion published a comprehensive account of the hieroglyphic writing system, consolidating his decipherment.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed curator of the Egyptian collection at the Louvre
1826

Champollion became the first curator of the newly created Egyptian department of the Louvre museum in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Led the Franco-Tuscan scientific expedition to Egypt
1828 – 1829

Together with Ippolito Rosellini, Champollion directed a major expedition documenting monuments and inscriptions along the Nile.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed to the first chair of Egyptian history and archaeology at the Collège de France
1831

A professorship in Egyptology, the first of its kind, was created for Champollion at the Collège de France in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Paris
4 March 1832

Champollion died of a stroke in Paris at the age of 41 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓