Origins and primary education Daukantas was born on 28 October 1793 in near
Lenkimai in
Samogitia. He was the oldest of seven children (two sons and five daughters). With Daukantas' help, his brother Aleksandras later studied medicine at
Vilnius University. Baptismal records of the two sons (but not of the daughters) specified that they were children of
Lithuanian nobles. There was an academic debate whether this information was accurate or falsified to provide the sons with better opportunities in life, a common practice among wealthier peasants at the time. An analysis of inventories of
Skuodas Manor revealed that the family were free peasants – different from
serfs in that they had some personal freedoms and paid
quit-rent instead of performing
corvée. When the manor was confiscated from the
Sapiehas for their participation in the
Uprising of 1831, the family was turned into serfs. However, Eimantas Meilus argued that inventories alone do not prove that the family was not of noble origin as many poorer nobles were equated to peasants and paid quit-rent to wealthier manors. The family worked about 1.5
voloks of land and pasture and raised cash for quit-rent by selling flax in
Riga or
Liepāja. According to the epitaph engraved on the gravestone of Daukantas' mother, she and her husband participated in a battle near Liepāja during the
Kościuszko Uprising against the
partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1799–1800, his father was mentioned as manor's forester. Daukantas' education was financed by his uncle, priest Simonas Lopacinskis (died in 1814). Daukantas attended a two-year primary school in
Kretinga. When the school was visited by an inspector from
Vilnius University in 1808, Daukantas was listed among 16 exemplary second-year students (out of total 68 students). The school curriculum included lessons on Polish and Latin grammar, geography, arithmetic, religion and morality. At some point, Daukantas enrolled into a four-grade six-year (the last two grades took two years to finish) school in
Žemaičių Kalvarija. Another inspector listed him as one of four best students in the last fourth grade in 1814. The school curriculum was dictated by Vilnius University and included
natural law (textbook by
Hieronim Stroynowski),
classical antiquity, rhetoric, geography, geometry, algebra, physics, natural sciences (textbook by
Stanisław Bonifacy Jundziłł), gardening. However, since all teachers were Dominican friars, students had to attend daily masses and go to confession every month. The subjects were taught in Polish and the use of
Samogitian (Lithuanian), even among students, was prohibited in November 1806. The official rationale was to facilitate the learning of Polish. However, as later attested by
Motiejus Valančius, neither students nor teachers knew Polish well and Daukantas never learned proper Polish pronunciation. In 1814, Daukantas with 10
rubles in his pocket and a bag of clothes on his back traveled on foot from Samogitia to
Vilnius to attend
Vilnius Gymnasium. The school year started on 1 September, but Daukantas was registered only on 26 September as a fifth-year student. That school year, the school had 423 students, mostly sons of nobles and officials. The gymnasium, together with Vilnius in general, was recovering after the
French invasion of Russia in 1812. Its original premises were occupied by a war hospital and so it temporarily shared rooms with Vilnius University. In June–July 1815, the gymnasium organized an annual public examination of its students attended by members of the clergy and university professors. Daukantas was listed among 14 students who distinguished themselves during this event. He successfully graduated from the gymnasium in early summer 1816.
University education In fall 1816, Daukantas began studies at the Faculty of Literature and Liberal Arts at
Vilnius University, then known as the Imperial University of Vilna.
Adam Mickiewicz transferred to the faculty at the same time. Daukantas was interested in
philology and studied Latin, Russian, and Polish literature, French language, rhetoric, poetry, natural and land law (leges patrias). His professors included of classical philology and of poetry and rhetoric. In 1817, Daukantas applied for a
Candidate of Philosophy degree, but was rejected because he did not provide required certificates and did not complete a thesis. After another year of studies, Daukantas transferred to the Faculty of Moral and Political Sciences in fall 1818. These studies could secure a more promising career as a judge or a government official. He attended lectures of , who formed Daukantas as a historian. Onacewicz studied at the
University of Königsberg and had access to the archives of the
Teutonic Order and spent a year studying archives at the estate of
Nikolay Rumyantsev in
Gomel. He collected enough information to establish a course on the
history of Lithuania as a separate subject from the
history of Poland. Another key professor was who taught law and studied
Lithuanian Statutes,
Casimir's Code, and
Lithuanian Chronicles. On 12 July 1819, Daukantas was granted the Candidate of Law degree in
canon and
Roman law. To get the diploma, Daukantas needed to provide proof of his noble status. He provided a large
parchment, signed by
Michał Józef Römer as
marshal of the szlachta of the
Vilna Governorate on 24 August 1820, that described an extensive genealogy of Daukantai family of that traced back to the late 1500s. While the document is authentic, historian
Vytautas Merkys concluded that Daukantas altered the genealogy to attach his own family to the noble Daukantai family, another known practice among peasants that shared surnames with noble families. Daukantas received his diploma on 25 January 1821. He continued his studies and took canon law, Roman civil law, criminal law, land law, political economy, history, logic and metaphysics. From fall 1820, Daukantas stopped attending lectures except for land law. He stopped taking classes in spring 1822. In all classes he received "good" or "very good" evaluations except in logic and metaphysics taught by
Anioł Dowgird where his knowledge was rated as "satisfactory". In spring 1821, Daukantas submitted an application for a master's degree. The oral exams took place in October–November 1821. He 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, Daukantas defended his thesis on the power of the head of a family according to the natural, Roman, and land law. He was granted the master's degree in canon and Roman law on 15 July 1822. However, Daukantas had to wait until 1825 to get his diploma. The degree needed a confirmation by the
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education. The university prepared the papers in August 1822, but they were returned because they needed translation into Russian. The translated documents were not sent out until March 1824. Part of the delay was caused by suppression of the
Filomat and
Filaret secret student societies (Daukantas' name was included on a list of potential members, but there is no evidence that he ever joined them). Discovered in May 1823, members of these societies were tried and sentenced for anti-Tsarist activities. Until resolution of the trials, students were prohibited from leaving Vilnius and the university ceased issuing graduation certificates. The process was delayed again due to the replacement of
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, curator of the , with
Nikolay Novosiltsev. The papers had to be reviewed by the new curator who approved Daukantas' degree in February 1825 followed by the ministry's approval in March. Finally, the university issued the diploma on 30 April 1825. There is no reliable information on Daukantas' activities while he waited for his diploma. Earlier biographers claimed that he studied at the
Imperial University of Dorpat, but researchers
Vaclovas Biržiška and found no record of Daukantas among Dorpat students.
Jonas Šliūpas claimed that Daukantas visited France, Germany, England, while other authors claimed that he studied historical documents at the
Königsberg archives, but there is no record that he was issued a passport that would have allowed him to leave Vilnius. 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. There a popular legend that he went to the
Gate of Dawn and promised to write only in Lithuanian. Already in 1822, he wrote
Darbai senųjų lietuvių ir žemaičių (Deeds of the Ancient Lithuanians and Samogitians), an 855-page manuscript on the
history of Lithuania. While it was not published until 1929, two copies of the manuscript are known. Researcher Roma Bončkutė proposed that Daukantas was inspired to write the work after reading
The Seasons by
Kristijonas Donelaitis, first published by
Ludwig Rhesa in 1818. In 1824, Daukantas translated 111 fables of
Phaedrus, but they remained unpublished until 1846.
Civil servant With his master's diploma in hand, Daukantas searched for a position in a government office. In September 1825, he was issued a passport that allowed him to travel to the
Governorates of Livonia and
Saint Petersburg. He found a post at the office of the
Governor-General of Livonia, Estonia and Courland in
Riga. All government officials in the Russian Empire were divided into 14 categories, from imperial ministers to train conductors (see:
Table of Ranks). In 1826, Daukantas was recognized as a titular councillor, 9th category official. For a promotion to
collegiate assessor he needed to prove his noble status and have three years of experience. In February 1826, Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia ordered to prepare a new law that would require all nobles to prove their social status. While the law was adopted only in May 1834, it became a lot more difficult to prove one's noble birth. Daukantas and his brother Aleksandras, then a student at Vilnius University, had to resubmit all documents proving their genealogy to a special commission of
Vilna Governorate. The commission recognized both brothers as nobles and forwarded documents to under the
Governing Senate in January 1832. In May 1833, Heroldia recognized Daukantas as noble, but not his brother. Daukantas was promoted to the 8th category in April 1834. During the
Uprising of 1831, Daukantas was in Riga – he was not granted vacations between December 1829 and July 1834. In 1833, he received two awards of 75 and 110 rubles for excellent work. We was interested in the history of Lithuania, but could not get access to the archives of Riga magistrate. After the promotion, he decided to change his position and move to
Saint Petersburg. He applied for a job at the first (administrative) department of the
Governing Senate. After a background check to ensure that he did not participate in the uprising, Daukantas started his new job in March 1835. He worked on paperwork related to ports and
Russian Imperial Navy. In March 1837, he transferred to the third department which dealt with all kinds of cases, complaints, and appeals from eastern
governorates of the Russian Empire, including
Vilna and
Kovno. Daukantas was attracted to this position because the office used
Lithuanian Metrica, a collection of the 14–18th century legal documents of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He became an assistant of
Franciszek Malewski. His annual salary was 286 rubles with additional 57 rubles for food. It was a small pay and Daukantas earned additional money by helping various people to locate needed genealogical and other documents in the Metrica. In July 1839, Daukantas received an award equal to his annual pay for helping create a practical index of the Metrica. However, he did not receive either
Order of Saint Anna (2nd class) or the
Order of Saint Stanislaus (2nd class) which were generally awarded after 12 and 15 years of employment. In February 1841, Daukantas' brother Aleksandras was implicated in an anti-Tsarist organization established by
Szymon Konarski. After an interrogation, he attempted suicide and was brought to a hospital in
Kherson. He died in the hospital on 5 October 1841. More repressions and restrictions, including stricter censorship, followed after the
Revolutions of 1848. Afraid of attracting police attention and losing his job, Daukantas kept his historical research a secret and always asked friends and acquaintances not to publish or mention his name. He used numerous non-repeating pen names and a few times published works without any name, though some researchers suggested that he also did that to create an impression that there were many Lithuanian writers. Even when sending a copy of
Būdas senovės lietuvių, kalnėnų ir žemaičių to
Teodor Narbutt, Daukantas described the work as if written by an unknown person.
Collaboration with other historians hoped to publish various historical primary sources. In Saint Petersburg, Daukantas worked on his studies on the history of Lithuania and was close friends with his former professor and who both lived in an apartment provided by the
Rumyantsev Museum. They both died in February 1845 and Daukantas deeply mourned his friends. When
Vilnius Theological Academy was moved to Saint Petersburg in 1842, it brought more Lithuanian intellectuals to Saint Petersburg. Daukantas is often crediting for inspiring
Motiejus Valančius, future
Bishop of Samogitia, to write his works in Lithuanian. The small Samogitian circle was ruined when and Valančius returned to Lithuania in 1844–1845. However, Daukantas and Valančius continued to correspond and collaborate. It is likely that Valančius wrote his fundamental work on the history of the
Diocese of Samogitia in Lithuanian and not in Polish because of Daukantas' influence. In this work, Valančius cited Daukantas' manuscript of
Istorija žemaitiška four times and Lithuanian Metrica (copies of which he could have obtained only from Daukantas) another four times, though likely used Daukantas and his sources more frequently as Valančius mentioned a total of 19 Samogitian cities and towns that had received royal privileges.
Teodor Narbutt, author of the nine-volume
History of Lithuania, began corresponding with Daukantas in March 1842. They exchanged books and materials. In total, Narbutt wrote 19 letters to Daukantas, and Daukantas wrote 20 letters to Narbutt. Their main concern was to obtain and publish historical documents and other
primary sources related to the history of Lithuania. Daukantas was particularly wary of falsified or altered sources being published by various Polish historians. Their plan to publish primary sources was an intentional and principled decision to publish Lithuanian documents separately from Polish historians who began publishing
Sources for the History of Poland (
Źródła do dziejów Polski). 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. In particular, he highly valued a copy of a manuscript by
Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz that cataloged and described various coat of arms of
Lithuanian nobility. When Narbutt promised to find a way to publish the manuscript, 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 Daukantas lost his patience after receiving only promises of ever grander plans. Their collaboration broke down in 1844. Narbutt never published or returned the documents received from Daukantas who was angry over losing most valuable pieces of his collection and continued to demand their return until 1858. After Narbutt's death, his sons gifted some of the primary sources collected by their father, including 158 pages copied by Daukantas, to a library in
Lviv (present-day
Stefanyk National Science Library).
Retirement In an 1846 letter to Narbutt, Daukantas complained of poor health which he attributed to long hours spent in cold and damp archives of the Russian Senate. He complained that he had difficulty walking, but dismissed doctors' diagnosis of
podagra. In summer 1850, he requested a three-month vacation to improve his health. In September, he obtained an official certificate from a German doctor in
Telšiai that at the age of 58 and troubled by many ailments he was unfit to continue his work in Saint Petersburg. 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. His move to Lithuania coincided with the consecration of his old friend
Motiejus Valančius as
Bishop of Samogitia in March 1850. Daukantas lived in
Varniai where Valnčius resided and which was becoming a cultural center in Samogitia. He received a salary of 200 rubles from Valančius and worked on his historical studies that he hoped to publish with Valančius' help. However, soon the relationship soured perhaps because Valančius prioritized religious work and literature and would assign tasks which had little to do with Lithuanian cultural work that Daukantas desired. Also, Valančius had a more critical approach to writing history and reportedly criticized Daukantas' overly idealized work and carefully controlled the language of Daukantas' historical works. In summer 1855, Daukantas moved from Varniai. Historians usually cite the conflict between Daukantas and Valančius as the reason for the move, but ill health and fear of police persecution probably also contributed. Due to the
Crimean War, Russian police became more vigilant and they came across
Būdas senovės lietuvių, kalnėnų ir žemaičių that Daukantas had published in 1845. The censors reevaluated the book and deemed it inappropriate due to its anti-serfdom rhetoric. The police tracked down Daukantas and knew that he moved from Varniai to
Courland. However, the book was already sold out and the investigation concluded with an order to keep an eye on bookstores in case a new edition of the book appeared. The book was one of the first books added to a list of prohibited books compiled in October 1855. Daukantas moved to () in present-day Latvia to live with Petras Smuglevičius, a medical doctor and a relative of painter
Franciszek Smuglewicz. Smuglevičius was accused of belonging to a secret student society, arrested for a year, later acquitted, but still lived under police supervision. He was very supportive of Lithuanian cultural activities. In early 1858,
Mikalojus Akelaitis also moved in to live with Smuglevičius. Akelaitis treated Daukantas as a fatherly figure and they supported each other's work. 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. He compiled a collection of historical documents, privileges from 1387–1561 that he had inherited from , and made one last attempt to collect the document he loaned to
Teodor Narbutt. 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, Valančius, and Daukantas wanted to establish
Pakeleivingas, a Lithuanian-language periodical aimed at the ordinary village people, but could not get government's permission. Daukantas had four manuscripts ready to be published (two booklets with agricultural advice, Lithuanian reworking of
Robinson Crusoe, and a second edition of a Lithuanian
primer), but they all remained unpublished due to lack of funds. Around summer 1859, Daukantas left Jaunsvirlauka and briefly lived with various friends and relatives. In October 1861, he moved to
Papilė to live with Ignotas Vaišvila, a parish priest. His health continued to deteriorate. Daukantas and Valančius exchanged final bitter letters in 1861, completely severing their friendship. One of these letters was later published in
Aušra. It is unclear what Daukantas did during the
January Uprising of 1863–1864, but several of his friends were arrested, imprisoned, or exiled to Siberia. Vaišvila was arrested, but released. Daukantas died on 6 December 1864 and was buried on the summit of the Papilė
hill fort without much ceremony. Vaišvila put a simple engraved stone on the grave; twenty years later, he replaced it with an engraved ledger gravestone commissioned in Riga which survives to this day. In 1925, Antanas Raudonis, a former
Lithuanian book smuggler and an amateur sculptor, added a cross that is shaped as an oak stump with a growing shoot. ==Works==