Who: Michael Ventris (1950s)

Profession: Architect.

In the early 20th century, clay tablets with incomprehensible symbols were found on the island of Crete during excavations. The script was named 'Linear B'. For half a century, the world's best linguists and historians struggled to decipher it, but they were never able to read a single word.

Michael Ventris was not a historian, but he loved puzzles and worked as a codebreaker during World War II. He approached ancient tablets not as a linguist, but as a codebreaker. Architectural thinking helped him build a strict grid of symbols. He suggested that behind the incomprehensible signs lay an early form of ancient Greek, although academics insisted that this was impossible. Ventris was right. He deciphered Linear B, making the greatest discovery in the history of 20th-century linguistics. Unfortunately, the brilliant architect never got to enjoy the fame — he died in a car accident at the age of 34.