The Commemorative Bas-Relief Plaque, Dedicated to Simonas Daukantas

In 1976, a commemorative plaque was placed and unveiled on the building at 30 Herkaus Manto st (S. Daukanto st.). The plaque is dedicated to Simonas Daukantas. The following is embossed into the plaque: this street is named after the first Lithuanian historian and educator, Simonas Daukantas.
When the Germans were in control, this street used to be named after Simon Dach, but after World War II, the names of streets were being changed. Therefore, in 1948, the Soviet Government decided to rename the street after Simonas Daukantas. S. Daukantas was a Lithuanian historian, writer and educator, one of the first ideologists of the national revival.
He was born on October 26th, 1793, in Kalviai, in present day Skuodas district. He graduated from elementary school in Kretinga and continued his studies in the Samogitian Calvary 4-Form School. In 1822, Daukantas graduated from Vilnius University.
The search for historical sources on the Lithuanian nation was his most important mission. Daukantas studied these sources and wrote books for his nation, enlightened it, fostered its self-respect and helped it understand its value.
S. Daukantas and his comrades from the Tsarist authorities have received permission in 1841 to establish Lithuanian parish schools in Lithuania. He cooperated with Motiejus Valančius and distributed Lithuanian press. His most important work – The Manners of Ancient Lithuanians, of Samogitians and Mountaineers – the first retelling of the history of the Lithuanian culture, published in Saint Petersburg.
Between 1825 and 1826, Daukantas worked in Riga, in the governor’s office. In 1835, he worked in the Russian Senate, in Petersburg, where the Lithuanian Metrica was being kept, among other historical sources that were hard to access. Intense work in the archives, fatigue, and poverty greatly affected Daukantas’ health. He came back to his homeland in 1850, grey and sickly. Daukantas spent his last four years in Papilė, in the care of parson I. Vaišvila, where he died in 1864.