Mikalojus Akelaitis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 5 December 1829 |
| Died | 27 September 1887 (aged 57) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Cimetière parisien de Pantin[1] |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Other names | Mikołaj Akielewicz (Polish), Juras Varnelis (pen-name) |
| Known for | Cultural figure, activist, author, poet, linguist, publicist |
| Movement | Lithuanian National Revival |
| Board member of | Želmuo Society |
Mikalojus Akelaitis (Polish: Mikołaj Akielewicz, also known by pen-name Juras Varnelis; 1829–1887) was a Lithuanian writer, publicist and amateur linguist, one of the early figures of the Lithuanian National Revival and participant in the Uprising of 1863.
Akelaitis completed only a four-year secondary school and worked as a tutor for nobility's children at various manors in present-day Poland and Lithuania. He learned several languages and started contributing articles to the Polish press. He wrote works on the Lithuanian language, literature, folklore, mythology, history. His favorite research subject was linguistics, but as many self-taught linguists he developed unscientific etymologies and theories. Many of his works remained unfinished or unpublished. He generally supported the resurrection of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Polish-Lithuanian identity. He wrote texts that were meant for the common folk in Lithuanian, but his articles and studies for the intelligentsia were written in Polish as it was considered the language of culture at the time. He collaborated with Simonas Daukantas and Motiejus Valančius on plans to establish the first Lithuanian-language periodical Pakeleivingas, but failed to secure government's permits. With financial aid of several nobles, he published five Lithuanian-language booklets in 1860 at the press of Adam Honory Kirkor. Akelaitis joined the anti-Tsarist resistance leading to the Uprising of 1863 – he organized an anti-government demonstration and wrote anti-government texts. He fled the Russian police to Paris where he worked at the Polish Library in Paris. At the outbreak of the uprising, he returned to Lithuania becoming an assistant commissioner of the Polish National Government in Augustów. When it became clear that the uprising would not succeed, Akelaitis fled to Paris for the second time where he lived until his death. Despite poverty, he continued to be active in Polish and Lithuanian cultural life. He contributed articles to various Polish and Lithuanian periodicals, including Wiek where he had a regular column. His largest published work, a Lithuanian grammar in Polish, was published posthumously in 1890.