Leon Cogniet’s portrait of Jean-François Champollion. In 2022, on the bicentennial of his remarkable achievement, France commemorated Champollion's legacy through a series of events and celebrations. In 1822, Champollion deciphered the iconic Rosetta Stone, unlocking the enigmatic hieroglyphic texts texts discovered in ruins up and down the length of Egypt. Remembered as the father of Egyptology, the 19th-century Frenchman Jean-François Champollion prematurely and tragically passed away in 1832 shortly after visiting Egypt.
