Harold Williams is one of the most famous polyglots in history. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1876, and from childhood was interested in languages.
Over a lifetime, he possessed 58 languages, including English, old Irish, Russian, Czech, Albanian, Serbian, Romanian, Swedish, Basque, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, Coptic, Egyptian, Hittite, and others.
His knowledge of languages he used in diplomacy and able to communicate in their native language with all representatives of the delegations of the League of Nations.