Born January 6, 1822, Heubukow, Mecklenburq-Schwerin, Germany
Died December 26, 1890, Naples, Italy

Since the Middle Ages, historians, mapmakers, and travelers have tried to find the actual sites where the events of Homer’s epic poem the Iliad took place. Was the ancient Greek poet’s account of the final years of the Trojan War based on fact, or merely a myth? Did the ancient city of Troy really exist? Listening spellbound to these stories as a boy, Heinrich Schliemann was certain that the tales were true, and determined that someday he would be the one to rediscover the city.

The son of a pastor, Schliemann had to leave school early to help with the family finances. He was apprenticed to a grocer when he was fourteen, and a short time later became an office boy for a firm located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. All the while he...