One of the greatest polyglots in human history, the Italian Ca | LOST HISTORY

One of the greatest polyglots in human history, the Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, spoke 39 languages fluently and could understand almost as many more, though he never left Italy.

He once learned a new language in one night only to receive a confession in the morning from a foreign criminal sentenced to death.