Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac, also known as Champollion l'aîné ('the Elder'; 5 October 1778 – 9 May 1867) was a French archaeologist, elder brother of Jean-François Champollion (decipherer of the Rosetta Stone).

Biography

He was born at Figeac in the département of Lot. He became professor of Greek and librarian at Grenoble. His research in Grenoble in 1803 revealed the existence of a Merovingian crypt under the church of St. Laurent. He was compelled to retire in 1816 on account of the part he had taken during the Hundred Days. He afterwards became keeper of manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and professor of palaeography at the École des Chartes. In 1850 he became librarian of the Château de Fontainebleau. He was a correspondent, living abroad, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands from 1832 to 1851.

Works

He edited several of his brother's works, and was also author of original works on philological and historical subjects, among which may be mentioned:

Legacy

His son Aimé-Louis (1812–1894) became his father's assistant at the Bibliothèque Nationale and, besides a number of works on historical subjects, wrote a biographical and bibliographical study of his family in Les Deux Champollion (Grenoble, 1887). In Vif near Grenoble, The Champollion Museum is located at the former abode of Jacques Joseph.

In popular culture

Champollion was portrayed by Stuart Bunce in the 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt.