Yuri Knorozov

Yuriy Valentinovich Knorozov (alternatively Knorosov; Ю́рий Валенти́нович Кноро́зов; November 19, 1922 – March 31, 1999) was a Soviet linguist epigrapher and ethnographer, who is particularly renowned for the pivotal role his research played in the decipherment of the Maya script, the writing system used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica.