Heinrich Schliemann, the excavator of Troy, spent only a quarter of a year at a Gymnasium. He became an apprentice and assistant in a shop in Fürstenberg and taught himself languages, Russian without a teacher. He made a fortune as a merchant. In 1869 he still applied for a doctorate, and the University of Rostock awarded it to him in his absence, on 27 April 1869. The examiner’s report suggested that the university might set aside the normal procedure, because Schliemann was an autodidact.