Career
He was the father of archaeologist Heinrich Ludwig Urlichs (1864-1935). He received his education at the University of Bonn, where he was a student of Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker (1784-1868). Afterwards he travelled throughout Sicily and Italy.
In Rome he collaborated with other German scholars on the multi-volume Beschreibung der Stadt Rom (1829–1842).
In 1844 he became an associate professor at the University of Bonn. In 1855 he relocated to the University of Würzburg as chair of classical philology and aesthetics.
He specialized in classical pottery and ancient sculpture, and at Würzburg was in charge of the large collection of art and antiques at the Martin von Wagner Museum. He died in Würzburg. Among his numerous publications was an important work on the landmarks of ancient Rome titled Codex Urbis Romae topographicus (1871), and an 1863 monograph on the life and works of the Greek sculptor Skopas called Skopas: Leben und Werke.