This is a chronological list of any individuals, legendary or real, who are purported by traditions to have invented alphabets or other writing systems, whether this is proven or not.
- Enos - Biblical patriarch, ascribed introduction of consonantal Ge'ez alphabet c. 3350 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Thoth - mythical Egyptian deity, ascribed invention of Egyptian hieroglyphics c. 3000 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Fu Hsi - legendary Chinese king, ascribed invention of Chinese characters c. 2850 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Cangjie - legendary Chinese scribe, also ascribed invention of Chinese characters c. 2650 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Enmerkar - legendary Sumerian king, ascribed invention of cuneiform c. 2300 BC (?) according to Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta epic.
- Fenius Farsa - legendary Scythian king, ascribed invention of Ogham writing c. 2000 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Ogma - legendary Irish deified chieftain, also ascribed invention of Ogham writing c. 1875 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Cadmus - legendary Phoenician prince, ascribed invention of Greek alphabet c. 1350 BC (?) according to tradition.
- Evander - legendary Roman hero, ascribed adoption of Greek alphabet to Latin alphabet c. 1250 BC (?) according to tradition
- Pharnavaz I of Iberia - Iberian king, ascribed development of Georgian alphabet in 284 BC, according to tradition.
- Marcus Tullius Tiro - Roman secretary, ascribed invention of Tironian notes shorthand c. 63 BC, according to tradition.
- Ulfilas, Goth missionary, believed to have invented Gothic alphabet c. 350 AD , according to tradition.
- Saint Mesrob - Armenian monk, created the Armenian alphabet in c. 405.
- Thonmi Sambhota - legendary Tibetan scribe, ascribed invention of Tibetan script c. 650, according to tradition.
- Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born in Central Asia (c.778 - c.850) created the notations of: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0.
- Kūkai - Japanese monk, ascribed invention of Kana syllabary c. 806, according to tradition.
- Saint Cyril - Greek monk, believed to have created Glagolitic alphabet c. 863.
- Sirijonga - Nepalese king, ascribed invention of Limbu alphabet c. 880, according to tradition.
- Saint Clement of Ohrid - Bulgarian archbishop, ascribed invention of Cyrillic alphabet c. 900, according to tradition.
- Diela - Manchurian scribe, ascribed creation of Khitan script ca. 925
- Yeli Renrong - Tangut scholar, invented Tangut script in 1036.
- Wanyan Xiyin - Manchurian scribe, invented Jurchen script in 1120.
- Hildegard of Bingen - German nun, invented Litterae ignotae c. 1150.
- Honorius of Thebes - possibly mythical author, ascribed invention of Theban alphabet c. 1220 (?).
- Dhawan Turi - possibly mythical, ascribed invention of Varang Kshitri alphabet c. 1250 (?)
- Moubao Azong - Tibetan king, ascribed invention of Dongba script, c. 1250 (?), according to tradition.
- Chögyal Phagpa - Tibetan monk, invented Phagspa script in 1269.
- Ramkhamhaeng the Great - Thai king, ascribed invention of Thai alphabet in 1283, according to tradition.
- Saint Shahjalal - Bengali, ascribed invention of Syloti Nagri alphabet c. 1300, according to tradition.
- Stephen of Perm - Russian missionary, invented the Old Permic script alphabet in 1372.
- Sejong the Great of Joseon - Korean king, have invented Hangul writing in c. 1443, promulgated in 1446.
- Johannes Pantheus - German author, invented Enochian alphabet in 1478.
- Johannes Trithemius - German cryptographer, invented an "Angelic" (magical) alphabet in 1499.
- Thomas More - English author, invented Utopian alphabet in 1516
- Paracelsus - Swiss alchemist, invented Alphabet of the Magi c. 1520.
- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa - German alchemist, created the Transitus Fluvii, Malachim, and Celestial Alphabets, c. 1525.
- Guru Angad Dev - Sikh Guru, ascribed invention of Gurmukhi script c. 1539 according to tradition.
- John Dee - English alchemist, invented another Enochian alphabet ca. 1582.
- Timothy Bright - English, invented Characterie shorthand in 1588.
- Nurhaci (king), or possibly his translators Erdeni and Gagai ? - Manchurians, created Manchu alphabet in 1599.
- John Willis - English, invented a system of shorthand in 1602
- Alexandre de Rhodes - French missionary, developed Vietnamese alphabet c. 1624, adapting the Roman alphabet
- Thomas Shelton - English translator, developed Short Writing, an early shorthand, in 1626.
- Zaya Pandit - Kalmuk lama, developed Todo script in 1648.
- Jeremiah Rich - English, invented a system of shorthand in 1654.
- Francis Lodwick - Dutch linguist, invented Universal Alphabet in 1686.
- Bogdo Zanabazar - Mongolian monk, created Soyombo script in 1686.
- Thikúng Men Salóng - Bhutanese scholar, invented Lepcha script some time around 1700.
- George Psalmanazar - European impostor and scholar, invented a (fraudulent) Formosan alphabet in 1704.
- John Byrom - British poet, invented a system of shorthand c. 1715.
- Benjamin Franklin - American statesman, developed Benjamin Franklin's phonetic alphabet ca. 1768.
- Samuel Taylor - American, invented Universal Stenography system of shorthand in 1792.
- Franz Xaver Gabelsberger - German secretary, invented Gabelsberger shorthand around 1817.
- Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Serbian linguist, developed Serbian Cyrillic alphabet c. 1818, adapting Cyrillic alphabet.
- Sequoyah, Cherokee silversmith, believed to have invented Cherokee syllabary c. 1819.
- Louis Braille - French teacher, invented Braille writing around 1821.
- Duala Bukare - Liberian, invented syllabary for Vai language around 1833.
- Samuel F. B. Morse - American inventor, invented Morse code c. 1835.
- Isaac Pitman - British teacher, invented Pitman shorthand in 1837.
- James Evans - Canadian missionary, invented a syllbary used for Ojibwe and Cree c. 1840, these days referred to as Cree syllabics.
- Beitha Kukju - Albanian, invented the Beitha Kukju alphabet in 1840.
- Karl Richard Lepsius - German linguist, developed Standard Alphabet by Lepsius c. 1855.
- George D. Watt and Parley P. Pratt - American Mormon leaders, developed Deseret alphabet ca. 1855.
- Alexander Melville Bell - American teacher, invented Visible Speech in 1867
- William Bell Wait - American teacher, invented New York Point system in 1868.
- Anton Bezenšek - Slovenian linguist, developed Bezenšek Shorthand c. 1879
- Adrien-Gabriel Morice - French, developed Carrier syllabary c. 1885.
- John Robert Gregg - Irish author, invented Gregg Shorthand c. 1888.
- John William Tims - American, developed Blackfoot syllabary c. 1890.
- Uyaquk - Yupik (Alaska Native) missionary, invented Yugtun script c. 1900.
- Robert Boyd - American, invented Boyd's Syllabic Shorthand in 1903.
- Sam Pollard - British missionary, invented Pollard script in 1905.
- Afáka Atumisi - Surinamian, invented Afaka script in 1908.
- Zhang Binglin - Chinese linguist, invented shorthand that was developed into Zhuyin in 1913.
- James O. Fraser - Scottish missionary, invented Fraser alphabet c. 1915.
- Kisimi Kamala - Sierra Leonean, invented Mende syllabary, Ki-ka-ku, in 1921.
- Cismaan Yuusuf Keenadiid - Somali, invented Osmanya script c. 1921.
- Reginald John Garfield Dutton - British, invented Dutton Speedwords shorthand in 1922.
- Pandit Raghunath Murmu - Indian, created Ol Chiki script in 1925.
- Ong Kommadam - Laotian freedom fighter, developed the Khom script, first used 1926.
- Diedrich Westermann - German missionary, developed Africa Alphabet in 1928.
- J. R. R. Tolkien - British author, invented the Tengwar and Sarati c. 1930.
- Tenevil - Chukchi raindeer herder, developed a writing system for Chukchi language c. 1931.
- Celadet Elî Bedirxan - Kurd linguist, developed Kurdish alphabet in 1932.
- Charles A. Thomas - invented Thomas Natural Shorthand in 1935.
- Chief Gbili - Liberian, invented Kpelle syllabary ca. 1935.
- Wido Zobo - Liberian, invented Loma syllabary ca. 1935.
- Mangei Gomango - Indian, invented Sorang Sompeng script in 1936.
- Solomana Kante - Guinean author, invented the N'Ko alphabet in 1949.
- Charles K. Bliss - Australian engineer, invented Blissymbolics ca. 1949.
- C. Theo Yerian and Carl W. Salser - American teachers, developed Personal Shorthand c. 1955.
- John R. Malone - American, developed the UNIFON alphabet ca. 1955.
- Shong Lue Yang - Laotian, created Pahawh Hmong alphabet in 1959.
- Bakri Sapalo - Oromo from Ethiopia, invented syllabary
- Peter Benjamin Graham - Australian artist, invented New Epoch Notation Painting in 1964.
- Ronald Kingsley Read - British, invented the Shavian (early 1960s) and Quikscript (1966) writing systems.
- James Hill - British, developed Teeline Shorthand in 1970.
- Valerie Sutton - American choreographer, developed MovementWriting for transcribing dance in 1972 and SignWriting for transcribing sign languages in 1974.
- Ali Moslehi Moslehabadi - Iranian comparative linguist, developed IPA2, also known as Pársik in 2004.
- Gregg M. Cox - linguist who developed the Coorgi-Cox alphabet in 2005
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