John Chadwick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Chadwick
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| Born | 21 May 1920 East Sheen, Richmond-upon-Thames, England
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| Died | 24 November 1998 (aged 78) |
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Linguist, scholar |
John Chadwick (born May 21, 1920 – died November 24, 1998) was an English expert in languages and ancient cultures. He is most famous for helping to figure out the ancient writing system called Linear B with Michael Ventris.
Contents
Early Life and Wartime Work
John Chadwick was born in Mortlake, Surrey, England, on May 21, 1920. He went to St Paul's School and then to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge to study ancient languages.
In 1940, during World War II, John joined the Royal Navy. He served on a ship called HMS Coventry in the Mediterranean Sea. His ship was attacked by a submarine and planes.
Later, in 1942, he was moved to intelligence work in Egypt. He helped to break secret Italian codes. In 1944, he was sent to Bletchley Park, a top-secret British code-breaking center. There, he learned Japanese and worked on decoding messages from the Japanese navy.
After the war ended in 1945, John went back to Cambridge. He finished his studies with top honors in linguistics, which is the study of language. While at college, he and some friends tried to decipher "Minoan Linear Script B." They knew about the work of Michael Ventris, another scholar. They stopped their work because there wasn't enough information about the ancient writings.
Discovering Linear B
In 1950, John Chadwick published his first academic book. It was about the medical writings of Hippocrates, an ancient Greek doctor. After finishing his degree, he worked on the Oxford Latin Dictionary. In 1952, he became a teacher of Classics at Cambridge.
In July 1952, John heard Michael Ventris on the radio talking about his work on Linear B. John offered to help, calling himself "a mere language expert." They started working together to decipher Linear B.
Linear B is an ancient writing system used in Mycenaean Greece. For many years, no one could understand it. Ventris had a theory that Linear B might be an early form of Greek. Chadwick used his deep knowledge of ancient languages to test this idea.
In 1956, they published a very important book called Documents in Mycenaean Greek. This book showed how they had successfully deciphered Linear B. They proved that it was indeed an early form of the Greek language. This was a huge breakthrough for understanding ancient history.
Later Work and Legacy
Sadly, Michael Ventris died in 1956. After his death, John Chadwick became the main leader of the Linear B research. He wrote a popular book called The Decipherment of Linear B in 1958. This book made the complex story of the decipherment easy for everyone to understand. He also updated their earlier book in 1978.
John Chadwick retired in 1984. He continued to be an active scholar until he passed away. He was a member of many international groups and wrote many articles. He was also a Fellow of the British Academy.
Family
John Chadwick married Joan Hill in 1947. They had one son, Camden Chadwick.
Awards and Honors
- 1992: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
- 1997: International Antonio Feltrinelli Prize
See also
- Mycenaean Greek, Mycenaean Greece
- Michael Ventris
