114 Facts About Simonas Daukantas

Simonas Daukantas's views reflected the three major trends of the 19th century: romanticism, nationalism, and liberalism.

Simonas Daukantas attended schools in Kretinga and Zemaiciu Kalvarija and was noted as an excellent student.

Simonas Daukantas first worked at the office of the Governor-General of Livonia, Estonia and Courland in Riga then moved to Saint Petersburg to work at the Governing Senate.

In 1850, Simonas Daukantas retired from his job due to poor health and moved back to Samogitia where he lived in Varniai under the care of bishop Motiejus Valancius for a few years.

Simonas Daukantas hoped to publish some of his works with bishop's help, but the bishop prioritized religious work and they began to quarrel.

In 1855, Simonas Daukantas moved to Jaunsvirlauka in present-day Latvia and later to Papile where he died in obscurity in 1864.

Simonas Daukantas used poetic descriptions, rhetorical elements, and emotional language that brought his history works closer to a literary work.

Simonas Daukantas's histories are valued not for their scientific content, but for their contribution to the development of the Lithuanian national identity.

Simonas Daukantas identified language as the determining factor of nationality and articulated the nationalist anti-Polish sentiment that became the fundamental ideas of the Lithuanian National Revival and that survive in Lithuanian historiography into the 21st century.

Simonas Daukantas was the oldest of seven children.

At some point, Simonas Daukantas enrolled into a four-grade six-year school in Zemaiciu Kalvarija.

However, as later attested by Motiejus Valancius, neither students nor teachers knew Polish well and Simonas Daukantas never learned proper Polish pronunciation.

Simonas Daukantas was listed among 14 students who distinguished themselves during this event.

Simonas Daukantas successfully graduated from the gymnasium in early summer 1816.

In fall 1816, Simonas Daukantas began studies at the Faculty of Literature and Liberal Arts at Vilnius University, then known as the Imperial University of Vilna.

Simonas Daukantas was interested in philology and studied Latin, Russian, and Polish literature, French language, rhetoric, poetry, natural and land law.

In 1817, Simonas Daukantas applied for a Candidate of Philosophy degree, but was rejected because he did not provide required certificates and did not complete a thesis.

Simonas Daukantas attended lectures of Ignacy Zegota Onacewicz, who formed Daukantas as a historian.

Simonas Daukantas collected enough information to establish a course on the history of Lithuania as a separate subject from the history of Poland.

On 12 July 1819, Simonas Daukantas was granted the Candidate of Law degree in canon and Roman law.

Simonas Daukantas continued his studies and took canon law, Roman civil law, criminal law, land law, political economy, history, logic and metaphysics.

From fall 1820, Simonas Daukantas stopped attending lectures except for land law.

In spring 1821, Simonas Daukantas submitted an application for a master's degree.

Simonas Daukantas had to answer questions on a wide variety of subjects, from the law and history of Ancient Rome and impostors of Dmitry of Uglich to theory of taxes and specifics of Russian economy as well as thoughts of Montesquieu and Adam Smith.

In July 1822, Simonas Daukantas defended his thesis on the power of the head of a family according to the natural, Roman, and land law.

Simonas Daukantas was granted the master's degree in canon and Roman law on 15 July 1822.

However, Simonas Daukantas had to wait until 1825 to get his diploma.

Jonas Sliupas claimed that Simonas Daukantas visited France, Germany, England, while other authors claimed that he studied historical documents at the Konigsberg archives, but there is no record that he was issued a passport that would have allowed him to leave Vilnius.

Simonas Daukantas likely joined a small circle of Samogitian students that promised to promote Lithuanian language and culture signifying the early stages of the Lithuanian National Revival.

Researcher Roma Bonckute proposed that Simonas Daukantas was inspired to write the work after reading The Seasons by Kristijonas Donelaitis, first published by Ludwig Rhesa in 1818.

In 1824, Simonas Daukantas translated 111 fables of Phaedrus, but they remained unpublished until 1846.

Simonas Daukantas found a post at the office of the Governor-General of Livonia, Estonia and Courland in Riga.

In 1826, Simonas Daukantas was recognized as a titular councillor, 9th category official.

Simonas Daukantas was promoted to the 8th category in April 1834.

Simonas Daukantas applied for a job at the first department of the Governing Senate.

Simonas Daukantas worked on paperwork related to ports and Russian Imperial Navy.

In July 1839, Simonas Daukantas received an award equal to his annual pay for helping create a practical index of the Metrica.

Simonas Daukantas died in the hospital on 5 October 1841.

Afraid of attracting police attention and losing his job, Simonas Daukantas kept his historical research a secret and always asked friends and acquaintances not to publish or mention his name.

Simonas Daukantas used numerous non-repeating pen names and a few times published works without any name, though some researchers suggested that he did that to create an impression that there were many Lithuanian writers.

In Saint Petersburg, Simonas Daukantas worked on his studies on the history of Lithuania and was close friends with his former professor Ignacy Zegota Onacewicz and Vasily Anastasevich who both lived in an apartment provided by the Rumyantsev Museum.

Simonas Daukantas is often crediting for inspiring Motiejus Valancius, future Bishop of Samogitia, to write his works in Lithuanian.

Simonas Daukantas was particularly wary of falsified or altered sources being published by various Polish historians.

Simonas Daukantas sent to Narbutt about 800 copies of various documents made during the years by himself or by Onacewicz, including a copy of Die Littauischen Wegeberichte.

When Narbutt promised to find a way to publish the manuscript, Simonas Daukantas lent him the copy for a few months with strict orders to supervise the publication so that no Polish publishers could make any changes or alterations to the original text.

Narbutt harbored plans to publish the Bychowiec Chronicle as the first volume of a series of primary source publications, but Simonas Daukantas lost his patience after receiving only promises of ever grander plans.

Narbutt never published or returned the documents received from Simonas Daukantas who was angry over losing most valuable pieces of his collection and continued to demand their return until 1858.

Simonas Daukantas complained that he had difficulty walking, but dismissed doctors' diagnosis of podagra.

Simonas Daukantas was officially retired in February 1851 and allotted an annual pension of 42.90 silver rubles, but it was not enough to live on and he needed further financial support.

Simonas Daukantas's move to Lithuania coincided with the consecration of his old friend Motiejus Valancius as Bishop of Samogitia in March 1850.

Simonas Daukantas lived in Varniai where Valncius resided and which was becoming a cultural center in Samogitia.

Simonas Daukantas received a salary of 200 rubles from Valancius and worked on his historical studies that he hoped to publish with Valancius' help.

The police tracked down Simonas Daukantas and knew that he moved from Varniai to Courland.

Simonas Daukantas moved to Jaunsvirlauka in present-day Latvia to live with Petras Smuglevicius, a medical doctor and a relative of painter Franciszek Smuglewicz.

Simonas Daukantas continued to work on his historical studies, writing to linguist Friedrich Kurschat in hopes of obtaining books by Ludwig Rhesa and Daniel Klein and copies of historical sources from Johannes Voigt.

Simonas Daukantas supported the establishment of the Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius and corresponded with Eustachy Tyszkiewicz hoping to transfer some of his collected historical documents to the museum.

Akelaitis, Valancius, and Simonas Daukantas wanted to establish Pakeleivingas, a Lithuanian-language periodical aimed at the ordinary village people, but could not get government's permission.

Simonas Daukantas had four manuscripts ready to be published, but they all remained unpublished due to lack of funds.

Around summer 1859, Simonas Daukantas left Jaunsvirlauka and briefly lived with various friends and relatives.

Simonas Daukantas died on 6 December 1864 and was buried on the summit of the Papile hill fort without much ceremony.

Simonas Daukantas wrote four original books on the history of Lithuania.

For example, Simonas Daukantas had to pay 2,000 silver rubles to the publisher of his 120-page Latin grammar.

The only person known to have provided financial assistance to Simonas Daukantas is Ksaveras Kanapackis, who is listed as sponsor of ten books by Simonas Daukantas.

Simonas Daukantas wrote his first historical work, Darbai senuju lietuviu ir zemaiciu, in 1822 while still a student at Vilnius University.

In 1850, Simonas Daukantas reworked it as Pasakojimas apie veikalus lietuviu tautos senoveje which ended with the death of Grand Duke Vytautas in 1430.

Simonas Daukantas hoped to publish it with the help of Motiejus Valancius and two copies with various corrections were produced.

Simonas Daukantas created the word kalnenai to refer to Aukstaitija.

Simonas Daukantas was one of the first to clearly distinguish a nation from a state.

Simonas Daukantas believed that a nation is defined by its language and customs, not statehood.

Simonas Daukantas's histories were not about a territory that no longer existed, but about the living nation.

Simonas Daukantas further held liberal ideas that people were born with inalienable rights and that there was a social contract between a nation and the state.

Simonas Daukantas thought that peasants and other commoners were the core of a nation thus going against the Polish trend to emphasize the nation of nobles.

Simonas Daukantas used poetic and lively descriptions, rhetorical elements, monologues and dialogues, and emotional language that brought his history works closer to a literary work.

Simonas Daukantas painted an idealized image of ancient Lithuanians who embodied stoic values and lived peacefully in their vast forests until the nobility adopted foreign customs, became lazy, and started exploiting the common folk.

Simonas Daukantas blamed Poland and Polish nobility for Lithuania losing its statehood, moral enslavement of Lithuanians, and falsification and distortions of Lithuania's history.

Simonas Daukantas spent considerable effort in tracking down various historical documents, but he believed that where historical records are missing, historians should use their imagination to fill in the gaps.

Simonas Daukantas borrowed poetic elements from Kristijonas Donelaitis Daukantas cited his sources erratically and inconsistently.

Simonas Daukantas added a number of citations to primary sources, including the Lithuanian Chronicles, Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, chronicles by Wigand of Marburg, Peter von Dusburg, Lucas David.

In Budas senoves lietuviu, kalnenu ir zemaiciu, Simonas Daukantas cited a few documents from the Lithuanian Metrica, but perhaps was afraid to cite it more often as it could have attracted unwanted attention from the Tsarist authorities that he was using his access to the Metrica for non-work related purposes.

Simonas Daukantas used Lithuanian folklore, etymologies, and semantics as a source.

Simonas Daukantas knew seven languages: Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Latin, German, Latvian, and French.

Simonas Daukantas' entries did not provide lexicographic information and had very few illustrative examples of how a certain word is used in a sentence.

Simonas Daukantas wanted to demonstrate that Lithuanian language is rich in words and is an equal of other languages, but neglected practical aspects of the dictionaries.

From his own experience, Simonas Daukantas understood that Lithuanian students struggled learning Latin because they had to use Polish textbooks and many Lithuanians did not speak Polish before entering school.

Simonas Daukantas did not compile the Latin list of words, but translated it from a Polish edition.

In 1842, Simonas Daukantas published 1,500 copies of Abecele lietuviu, kalnenu ir zemaiciu kalbos.

In 1849, Simonas Daukantas prepared a second edition of the primer that removed the non-religious texts, but the manuscript remained unclaimed at the censor's office.

Simonas Daukantas prepared five other books for school students, but only two were published during his lifetime.

Simonas Daukantas published a translation of fables by Phaedrus and a translation of biographies from De viris illustribus by Cornelius Nepos, both in 1846.

Simonas Daukantas published the fables with hopes of awakening an interest in Lithuanian folk tales.

Simonas Daukantas adapted the text by changing names to Lithuanian names, geographic names to locations in Lithuania, aboriginal gods to pagan Lithuanian gods, and borrowing historical details from the Couronian colonization of the Americas, but otherwise remained faithful to Campe's text.

Simonas Daukantas translated a work by the Roman historian Justin.

Simonas Daukantas was passionate about the Lithuanian language and its purity.

Simonas Daukantas was concerned that religious books, by far the most popular Lithuanian books at the time, were often translated by foreigners with poor knowledge of Lithuanian.

Simonas Daukantas added Lithuanian proverbs to several of his works, but earlier works used proverbs already published by other authors.

Simonas Daukantas edited the songs freely, sometimes merging two songs together.

Simonas Daukantas worked perhaps on three more volumes, but they remained unpublished.

Since Simonas Daukantas spent most of his time outside of Lithuania, he had to rely on local helpers to visit the common villagers, write down samples of folklore, and send them to Simonas Daukantas.

In 1847, Simonas Daukantas began translating and publishing booklets with agricultural advice in hopes that Lithuanian peasants could improve their economic conditions via more efficient and profitable farming methods.

Simonas Daukantas published works on tobacco and on hops in 1847.

Simonas Daukantas had two more texts translated from Russian and Polish, but they were not published.

Simonas Daukantas added original introductions to these texts where he often returned to history.

Simonas Daukantas was passionate about the purity of the Lithuanian language.

Simonas Daukantas's orthography is extremely varied and inconsistent, even in the same manuscript, as he experimented wanting to eliminate features of Polish and to include features of Prussian Lithuania orthography.

Simonas Daukantas did not consider Latvian to be a foreign language and often borrowed its words, for example asinas from Latvian asins for blood, muize from Latvian muiza for manor.

Simonas Daukantas was an amateur linguist and frequently offered etymologies that were based on similar sounding words instead of the scientific comparative method.

Already in the first issue of Ausra, the first Lithuanian-language newspaper, Jonas Sliupas started publishing multi-part biography of Simonas Daukantas and raised the idea of publishing his works.

Two historical studies by Simonas Daukantas were first published in Vienybe lietuvninku and later in separate books by Lithuanian Americans in the 1890s.

In 1910, Simonas Daukantas' relatives transferred his manuscripts and library to the Lithuanian Scientific Society which promoted further study of his life and work.

Simonas Daukantas works were added to the Lithuanian school curriculum of Lithuanian literature.

Simonas Daukantas's biography was published as separate monographs by Vytautas Merkys and Saulius Zukas.

In 1983, Akmene District Municipality turned the former clergy house in Papile where Simonas Daukantas spent his last years into a memorial museum.

From 1993 to the introduction of the euro in 2015, Simonas Daukantas was featured on 100 litas banknotes.

The Simonas Daukantas Award was established in 1989 for accomplishments in historical studies, literary work, or other cultural work.