Juozas Adomaitis known by his pen name Šernas (1859–1922) was a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n non-fiction writer. He contributed to the Lithuanian-language newspapers ''

Aušra ''Aušra'' or ''Auszra'' (literally: ''dawn'') was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany (newspaper credited it as ) East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - Lithuania Mi ...

'' and briefly served as editor of ''

Varpas ''Varpas'' (literally: ''The Bell'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it w ...

''. In 1895, he moved to the United States where he worked as editor of the Lithuanian weekly '' Lietuva''. He published about 20 popular science books about biology, ethnology, geography, history of writing.

Biography

In the Russian Empire

Adomaitis was born in a small village near

Lukšiai Lukšiai is a town in Marijampolė County, in southwestern Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic ...

where he attended a primary school. He then studied at the

Marijampolė Gymnasium Marijampolė Rygiškių Jonas Gymnasium () is a secondary school in Marijampolė, Lithuania. It is named after Rygiškių Jonas, one of the pen names of linguist Jonas Jablonskis who was one of the gymnasium's alumni. Established in 1867, the gy ...

, but in the sixth year his father died and he returned to the family farm. Adomaitis wanted to continue his studies and left for

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1882. He began contributing to the Lithuanian press in 1885. He published articles in ''

'' printed in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

and ''Unija'' and ''

Lietuviškasis balsas ''Lietuviškasis balsas'' (original spelling: ''Lietuwiszkasis Bałsas''; literally: The Lithuanian Voice) was a Lithuanian-language newspaper published by Jonas Šliūpas from July 1885 to February 1889 in New York City and Shenandoah, Pennsylva ...

'' published in the United States. He also wrote about the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism (), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century, when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian ...

for the Polish weekly ' in Saint Petersburg. Adomaitis joined a group of Lithuanian students in Warsaw which established ''

'' and became its editor. Since Lithuanian-language publications were banned, he attracted police attention. He first fled to Ragnit (now

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

) in 1890, but the German police intended to hand him over to the Russians. He then returned to

Šakiai Šakiai () is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. History It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village, which was first mentioned in 1599. In 1719 Šakaičiai was renamed to Šaki ...

with fake papers and left for

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

in 1892. In 1894, he briefly returned to Lithuania to live with

Vincas Kudirka Vincas Kudirka (; – ) was a Lithuanian poet and physician, and the author of both the music and lyrics of the Lithuanian national anthem, "". He is regarded in Lithuania as a national hero. Kudirka used the pen names V. Kapsas, Paežerių Vi ...

, but soon emigrated to the United States.

In the United States

In December 1895, Adomaitis became editor of the Lithuanian weekly '' Lietuva'' published in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and continued to edit it until 1912. He was replaced by Bronius Kazys Balutis as the editor, but continued to work as an assistant editor until June 1918. Adomaitis emphasized the need for education as it was the primary means to lift oneself from poverty and misery. In addition to writing some 2,000 articles to various periodicals, he also published about 20 popular science books about the planet Earth and the Solar System (1896), geography (1899, 1902, 1906), dinosaurs (1900), biology (1901), forces of nature (1904), meteorology (1907), domesticated animals and plants (1901), hygiene and microbes (1905), ethnology (1903), ancient history (1904), history of writing (1906), etc. These books, published before there were any Lithuanian schools, were intended to fill the education gap. Adomaitis remained unmarried. He died in 1920 in Chicago and was buried at the

Lithuanian National Cemetery The Lithuanian National Cemetery () is a non-profit cemetery in Justice, Illinois, that mainly serves the Lithuanians in Chicago, Lithuanian American community in Chicago. Established in 1911, it is the resting place of many prominent Lithuanians ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adomaitis, Juozas 1859 births 1922 deaths Lithuanian writers Lithuanian newspaper editors Lithuanian book smugglers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States People from Šakiai District Municipality 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire