Jean-François Champollion, a French scholar and linguist, made a groundbreaking announcement that transformed the understanding of ancient Egyptian civilization. During a session at the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres in Paris, he informed members of his successful deciphering of the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone. This stone, which was discovered by French soldiers in 1799 during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, bore inscriptions in three scripts: Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphic. The Greek text, which was known at the time, provided a crucial reference point to unlock the other two scripts.

Champollion's meticulous study of the stone and other ancient texts, combined with his knowledge of Coptic (the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language), enabled him to establish the phonetic values of Egyptian hieroglyphs. His insights fundamentally changed the understanding of not just the writing system, but also the culture, history, and religion of ancient Egypt. By correlating the texts, he showed that hieroglyphs could represent sounds rather than just ideas, setting the standard for future Egyptology.

The announcement at the Académie was met with excitement and marked a pivotal moment in the field of linguistics and archaeology. It not only established Champollion as a leading figure in Egyptology but also opened up new avenues for scholarly research into ancient civilizations. The deciphering of the Rosetta Stone is often regarded as one of the key literary achievements of the 19th century, unlocking a treasure trove of knowledge about a long-lost world.