Schliemann, Heinrich: German archaeologist. Born Mecklenburg, Germany, Jan. 6, 1822. Died Naples, Italy, Dec. 25,1890.

Schliemann discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Troy. Inspired by the story of the Trojan War in the Iliad of the ancient Greek poet Homer, Schliemann first became a successful businessman in order to finance his study of archaeology and his search for Troy. This search later became his sole work.

In1870, digging at Hissarlik in Asia Minor, he discovered several layers of cities. A large collection of treasures convinced him that the second layer from the bottom was the city of the Trojan War. Schliemann returned to dig at this site several times and also excavated at Mycenae, the ancient capital of the Greek king Agamemon.

Other important digs were at Orchomenus, Ithaca, and Tiryns. Schliemann published several reports on his work, and his autobiography appeared in 1892. He became a United States citizen in 1850 when California, where he was living, became a state.