Vaclovas Biržiška (2 December 1884 – 3 January 1956) 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 attorney,

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

, and educator. He was a member of a notable Lithuanian family; his great-grandfather Mykolas Biržiška was a representative in the

Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The General Sejm (, ) was the bicameral legislature of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569 following the merger of the legislatures of the two states, the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the ...

when the

Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...

was accepted; his grandfather Leonardas Biržiška was an active participant in the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

; and his brothers,

Mykolas Biržiška Mykolas Biržiška (; 24 August 1882, in Viekšniai – 24 August 1962, in Los Angeles), a Lithuanian editor, historian, professor of literature, diplomat, and politician, was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuan ...

and

Viktoras Biržiška Viktoras Biržiška (February23, 1886January27, 1964) was a Lithuanian mathematician, engineer, journalist, and encyclopedist of Lithuanian nobility, noble extraction. His brothers were Mykolas Biržiška and Vaclovas Biržiška. Biography He was ...

, were also leaders of the Lithuanian community. His father, the physician Antanas Biržiška, declined a professorship at the

University of Moscow Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

to practice medicine in the rural areas of Lithuania. Biržiška was born in the village of

Viekšniai Viekšniai ( Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Vėikšnē'', ''Vekshne'', ) is a list of cities in Lithuania, town in the Mažeikiai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south-east of Mažeikiai. The etymology of the town's name pro ...

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

. He studied science and mathematics at the

University of St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

, transferred into the school of law, graduating in 1909, and then practiced law in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After serving as an officer in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, he worked in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for the office of Lithuanian affairs, as Commissar for Education in Lithuania, and as a teacher in Lithuania. During the conflicts between Lithuania,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and Russia that took place between 1918 and 1920, he served as legal counsel to both Lithuanian and Polish defendants. After Vilnius was annexed by

, he moved to the

temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania () was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was the capital of the Republic of Central Lithuania ( ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. He served in the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...

from 1920 to 1923 as an assistant to the commander of a battalion, as head of a military court, and as head of its educational branch. Returning to academia, he became a professor of law at

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

as well as a professor of humanities, pursuing his interests in bibliography and

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

. He was later dean of the faculty of law at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Biržiška emigrated to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and then to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He served as a consultant to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

from 1951 to 1953. Biržiška contributed heavily to the

Lithuanian Encyclopedia Lithuanian encyclopedias are encyclopedias published in the Lithuanian language or encyclopedias about Lithuania and Lithuania-related topics. The first known attempt to create a Lithuanian encyclopedia was in 1883, when Jonas Jacevičius failed t ...

, compiling about 400 biographies of Lithuanian authors, and wrote numerous articles describing Lithuanian culture from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Other notable works

*''The Lithuanian Bibliography'', 5 volumes spanning 1547–1910; *''The History of the Old Lithuanian Books'', 2 vol. Chicago 1953–57; * 3 vol, covering biographies, bibliographies, and bio-bibliographies of old Lithuanian authors to 1865. He also compiled a bibliography of Lithuanian publications in the U.S. from 1875 to 1910, while consulting for the Library of Congress. (''Aleksandrynas'' v.1 foreword)

References

* "Biržiška, Vaclovas". Encyclopedia Lituanica I: 366:368. (1970–1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. LCCN 74-114275. {{DEFAULTSORT:Birziska, Vaclovas 1884 births 1956 deaths People from Viekšniai People from Shavelsky Uyezd Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–19) people Lithuanian encyclopedists Lithuanian male writers Saint Petersburg State University alumni Academic staff of Vilnius University Academic staff of Vytautas Magnus University Lithuanian military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I Lithuanian Army officers Lithuanian book and manuscript collectors 20th-century Lithuanian nobility