1773-1829. British physicist who revived the
wave theory of light and in 1801 identified
the phenomenon of interference. A child
prodigy, he had mastered most European
languages and many of the Eastern tongues by
the age of 20. He had also absorbed the
physics of Newton and the chemistry of
Lavoisier. He further displayed his
versatility by publishing an account of the
Rosetta stone that played a crucial role in
the stone's eventual decipherment by Jean
Francois Champollion.