Matas Šalčius (September 20, 1890 – May 26, 1940) 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 traveler, journalist, writer, political figure. Šalčius was born in the Čiudiškiai village in the modern Prienai district, central Lithuania (at that time part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

). He attended

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 ...

. While studying he began writing articles for newspapers, launching his career in journalism. Šalčius later worked as a teacher in

Šilutė district Šilutė (; previously ''Šilokarčiama''; ) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and ...

. He was a prominent critic of tsarist Russia so soon he had flee from political persecution. Then Šalčius began his first travels through China, Japan to the United States where he continued his work as a journalist. After Lithuania gained independence in 1918, Šalčius returned there and worked as a journalist (he was the director of the

ELTA ELTA is a Lithuanian news agency based in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. In a day, it receives about 5,000 news articles and produces about 300 articles in Lithuanian, Russian, and English. ELTA cooperates with foreign news agencies such as R ...

news agency). He helped to establish the

Lithuanian Riflemen's Union The Lithuanian Riflemen's Union (LRU, ), also referred to as Šauliai (''the Riflemen''; from for ''rifleman''), is a paramilitary organization supported by the Government of Lithuania and regulated by the dedicated law. It is active in three ...

. Šalčius traveled across Europe, and attempted to launch the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

industry in

. In 1929, Šalčius, together with another famous Lithuanian traveler, Antanas Poška, began a great journey through the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, Greece,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

to India. After this travel he published the six-volume series ''Svečiuose pas 40 tautų'' (At the company of 40 nations), which was awarded the National Press Prize. In 1936, Šalčius traveled to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. At first he unsuccessfully attempted to unite

n diaspora communities in South America. Šalčius planned to journey through all the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, but he became sick with

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the Human brain, brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, aphasia, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include se ...

and died in the town of

Guayaramerín Guayaramerín is a city within the Bolivian Beni Department. It is the capital of the Guayaramerín Municipality in the Vaca Díez Province. Guayaramerín is located on the west side of the Mamoré River, facing the Brazilian city of Guajar� ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. In 2005, an expedition organized by Lithuanian travelers and journalists reached Guayaramerín and marked the approximate location of Šalčius' burial with a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salcius, Matas 1890 births 1940 deaths Lithuanian male writers Lithuanian travel writers Deaths from malaria People from Prienai 20th-century Lithuanian journalists