<span>SequoyahSE-QUO-YAH – a lithograph from History of the Indian Tribes of North America. This lithograph is from the portrait painted by Charles Bird King in 1828.<span>Native nameᏍᏏᏉᏯ</span><span>Born<span>c. 1770
<span>Tuskegee, Cherokee Nation (near present day Knoxville, Tennessee)[1]</span></span></span><span>Died<span>August 1843 (aged 72–73)
<span>San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico</span></span></span><span>NationalityCherokee</span><span>Other namesGeorge Guess, George Gist</span><span>Occupation<span>Silversmith, blacksmith, teacher, soldier</span></span><span>Spouse(s)<span>1st: Sally (maiden name unknown), 2nd: U-ti-yu</span></span><span>ChildrenFour with first wife, three with second</span><span>Parent(s)<span>Wut-teh and unidentified father</span></span></span><span><span>This article contains Cherokee syllabic characters.</span> Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Cherokee syllabics.</span>
Sequoyah (ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Ssiquoya, as he signed his name,[2][3] or ᏎᏉᏯ Se-quo-ya, as his name is often spelled today in Cherokee) (c.1770—1843), named in English George Gist or George Guess, was a Cherokee silversmith. In 1821 he completed his independent creation of a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible. This was one of the very few times in recorded history that a member of a pre-literate people created an original, effective writing system[1][4] (another example being Shong Lue Yang). After seeing its worth, the people of the Cherokee Nation rapidly began to use his syllabary and officially adopted it in 1825. Their literacy rate quickly surpassed that of surrounding European-American settlers.<span>[1]</span>
