
Mykolas Biržiška (; ; 24 August 1882, in
Viekšniai – 24 August 1962, in
Los Angeles), a
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...
n editor, historian, professor of literature, diplomat, and politician, was
one of the twenty signatories of the
Act of Independence of Lithuania.
Biography
Born in a
noble Lithuanian family Biržiška was twice expelled from the
Gymnasium in Šiauliai after refusing to attend Orthodox services, and after organising a Lithuanian evening, although later was allowed to finish the studies.
He graduated from law school at the
University of Moscow in 1907. He was arrested at a student meeting in 1902 for advocating Lithuanian causes and served part of a two-year sentence, but succeeded in regaining admission to the university. After returning to
Vilnius, he became involved in the independence movement, frequently contributing articles to periodicals and later working with the War Relief Committee. at the time he was also working as assistant of
Tadeusz Wróblewski
Tadeusz Stanisław Wróblewski (8 November 1858 – 3 July 1925) was a Polish noble, politician, lawyer, bibliophile and cultural activist. He supported the democratic wing of the Krajowcy movement and founded the Wróblewski Library in Vilnius ...
. In 1915 he became principal of the first Lithuanian high school in Vilnius.
Together with his fellows he wrote a letter for US President
Woodrow Wilson asking for support for Independence of Lithuania.
In 1918 he was elected a member of the
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Taryba, german: Litauischer Staatsrat, pl, Rada Litewska), after July 11, 1918 the State Council of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Valstybės Taryba) was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place betwe ...
, and signed the Act in 1918. He served briefly as Minister of Education in the Second Cabinet of Ministers, and was busy preparing to