A man who couldn't read invented a writing system.
Sequoyah, a Cherokee, knew neither English nor how to read. From around 1809 he nonetheless developed a syllabary for his language, finished in 1821: 86 symbols, later 85, one per syllable. The Cherokee Nation adopted it in 1825; by 1830 about 90% of Cherokee could read their own language. In 1828 the Cherokee Phoenix appeared, North America's first bilingual newspaper.
Useful: People who invent a script from scratch almost never pick an alphabet: syllables feel more natural to speakers.
Source: en.wikipedia.org