Editing Michael Ventris (section)

==Death and legacy==
Ventris was awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1955 for "services to [[Mycenaean language|Mycenaean]] [[paleography]]."<ref name="chad3" />

On 6 September 1956, the 34-year-old Ventris, who lived in [[Hampstead]], drove to his in-laws' home late at night to retrieve his wallet.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Margalit |title=Riddle of the Labyrinth}}</ref> On the way home, he died instantly in a collision in [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire]], after striking a parked [[lorry]] parked in a [[Rest area|lay-by]] on the side of the road.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=John |title=The decipherment of Linear B |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Andrew |title=The man who deciphered Linear B |pages=150–152}}</ref> The coroner's verdict was accidental death.<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|2002|p=151}}</ref> In 1959 Ventris was [[Posthumous award|posthumously]] awarded the British Academy's [[Kenyon Medal]].

Initially there was some academic scepticism about the decipherment, continuing into the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://sunypress.edu/Books/L/Linear-B-Decipherment-Controversy-Re-Examined-The|title=Linear B Decipherment Controversy Re-Examined, The|accessdate=9 May 2023|via=sunypress.edu}}</ref> Today the Mycenaean Greek attribution is universally accepted by academics.

An [[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]] commemorates Ventris at his home in North End, Hampstead<ref name="EngHet">{{cite web| url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/michael-ventris/|title= VENTRIS, MICHAEL (1922–1956)|publisher=English Heritage| access-date=2021-05-25}}</ref> and a street in [[Heraklion]], the capital of the [[List of islands of Greece|Greek island]] of [[Crete]], was named in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-11-23|title=Ο ιδιοφυής νεαρός Μάικλ Βέντρις…|url=https://amarysia.gr/arthra-sxolia-main/%ce%bf-%ce%b9%ce%b4%ce%b9%ce%bf%cf%86%cf%85%ce%ae%cf%82-%ce%bd%ce%b5%ce%b1%cf%81%cf%8c%cf%82-%ce%bc%ce%ac%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%bb-%ce%b2%ce%ad%ce%bd%cf%84%cf%81%ce%b9%cf%82|access-date=2021-07-27|website=Εφημερίδα ΑΜΑΡΥΣΙΑ|language=el}}</ref>

The [[Ventris (crater)|Ventris crater]] on the far side of the Moon was named in his honour by the [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]] in 1970.<ref>[https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6349 Ventris], Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)</ref>