Sequoyah

The Full Profile

Sequoyah, Creator of the Cherokee Syllabary, created a writing system that enabled rapid growth of Cherokee literacy, publishing, education, and political communication. Sequoyah developed the Cherokee syllabary, a writing system adapted specifically to the Cherokee language. After its adoption in the 1820s, literacy spread rapidly and supported newspapers, correspondence, education, and governance. His achievement is one of history's best-known examples of a single person creating a successful writing system. His syllabary fit spoken Cherokee so well that a learner could read within days, and the nation's literacy soon rivaled that of its white neighbors; he remains the only person known to have created a complete writing system without first being literate in another.