Erich Frederich Schmidt was born on September 13, 1897 in Baden-Baden, Germany. His father, a university professor, Lutheran clergyman and scientist, died when Erich was only ten years old. Schmidt was educated in public school in Germany and following his father's death, his mother arranged for his appointment to the Kadettenkorps in Karlsruhe. Schmidt graduated a Lieutenant at the outbreak of World War I and for two years fought throughout Europe in Belgium, France, Poland, and Serbia. In 1916, Schmidt was injured in Austria Galicia and left for dead. Discovered on the battlefield by a Russian colonel, Schmidt was captured and spent the next four years as a prisoner of war in Siberia. In 1920, during the Russian Revolution, Schmidt was able to escape and made his way back to Germany. He received the Iron Cross of Germany and the golden medal of Wurttemberg for his service. Both Schmidt's mother and three siblings died during the war. Upon his return to Germany, Schmidt took up study in political science at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. In 1923, Schmidt left Germany to pursue studies in anthropology at Columbia University. Though it is unclear as to Schmidt's reasons for leaving Germany, it is likely he chose Columbia because of the reputation of Franz Boas, who was chair of the Department of Anthropology at the time. In 1924, Schmidt was hired, on the recommendation of Boas, for part-time work at the American Museum by Pliny Earle Goddard. The following year, Goddard and Schmidt left for Arizona to complete excavations at the request of Colonel William Boyce Thompson and his wife. Colonel William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930) and his wife, Gertrude Hickman Thompson (1877-1950) were born in Virginia City, Nevada. They married in 1895 and William quickly made a fortune on Wall Street and later in the mining industry. Thompson loved the area around his mine in Superior, Arizona, just outside Phoenix and had a house built there in the early 1920s. Sometime thereafter, Thompson toured Europe and visited Egypt and Tutenkhamon's tomb. Upon his return, Thompson took up residence in Superior and within a few months had contacted the American Museum about funding excavations near his home at Togetzoge. Schmidt's excavations at Togetzoge proved fruitful and in May of 1925, the AMNH executive committee made Mrs. Thompson a patron of the museum. From December 1925 through January 1926, Schmidt conducted stratigraphic test excavations at Pueblo Grande and La Ciudad, two Hohokam sites that he used for his dissertation. Schmidt's was the first Ph.D. awarded for what has become known as Hohokam studies and his work in Phoenix was the earliest systematic stratigraphic exploration of the southern region of the Southwest. Erich Schmidt's immigration status was a continual problem and following his Phoenix work, he was forced to leave the United States and reenter. With the help of Goddard, Schmidt was able to secure a temporary permit to complete his graduate work at Columbia. He did not become naturalized until 1938. Schmidt passed his final examinations in the spring of 1927 and by this time, had attracted the attention of a number of institutions. James Henry Breasted of the Oriental Institute invited Schmidt to join the Anatolia-Hittite Expedition as an assistant archaeologist and Schmidt accepted. James Henry Breasted was both the founder of the Oriental Institute and the first American Egyptologist. Following World War I, Breasted approached John D. Rockefeller to sponsor excavations in the Fertile Crescent. Over the next several years, Rockefeller would give over eleven million dollars to the Oriental Institute to support several major expeditions in the Middle East. H.H. Von der Osten was in charge of the Anatolia-Hittite Expedition and while he conducted a survey of the area, Schmidt led excavations at Alishar Huyuk. The following year, Schmidt was promoted to co-director of the expedition, but by the third season, tensions between Schmidt and Von der Osten led to Schmidt's resignation. At the recommendation of A.V. Kidder, one of his mentors, Schmidt was hired by the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania and in 1930, made his way to northern Iraq to dig at Fara. Colonel William Boyce Thompson died that same year and soon thereafter, Mrs. Thompson began supporting Schmidt's new projects. After one season in Iraq, Schmidt drove to Iran where the University Museum had received permission to work at the Tepe Hissar and Rayy sites. As he had elsewhere, Schmidt carried out stratigraphic excavations at these two sites and excavated a Sassanian Period palace. His work at Rayy was jointly funded by the University Museum, the American Institute of Persian Art and Archaeology, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 1934, Erich Schmidt married Mary Helen Warden, a wealthy woman from Philadelphia who helped support his work at Tepe Hissar. Mary Helen bought a plane for Schmidt to assist in his many excavations and he soon became a pioneer in aerial photography. Mary Helen died just two years after their marriage while in childbirth. At the same time that the University Museum had obtained permission to excavate at Tepe Hissar, the Oriental Institute began excavations at Persepolis, a summer palace of the Persian Empire built by Darius the Great. In early 1935, Schmidt replaced Ernst Herzfeld of the University of Berlin, as field director of excavations at Persepolis. Shortly thereafter, the University Museum and Museum of Fine Arts joined in the excavations. Schmidt excavated there until 1939 when World War II brought excavations to a close. For the rest of his career, Schmidt worked on writing up his excavations at Persepolis, something he had failed to do for his Arizona, Fara and Rayy work. He remarried in 1943, had two children and he rose to the position of professor and later, professor emeritus at the Oriental Institute. Erich F. Schmidt died on October 3, 1964 at the age of 67 in Santa Barbara, California.