Famous Lithuanian Men

Tadeusz Kościuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian statesman, military leader, and military engineer. Thanks to his participation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's fight against Prussia and Russia and his role in the American Revolutionary War, Tadeusz Kościuszko is widely regarded as a national hero in the United States, Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania.

Isaac Levitan was a Russian landscape painter remembered for his work that popularized the mood landscape genre. One of the most important landscape painters of his generation, Levitan was elected to the Russian Academy of Arts in 1897. The following year, Levitan was chosen as the head of the Landscape Studio at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian composer, painter, and writer. Widely regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in Europe, Čiurlionis contributed immensely to art nouveau and symbolism. Today, many of his paintings are preserved at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum in Lithuania. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis also had a major influence on modern Lithuanian culture.

The first president of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona was drawn into the revolutionary movements of his country soon after finishing law school. A major political figure of his country during the two World Wars, he came to power for a second time after launching a coup in 1926.

Mordecai Kaplan was a rabbi, Jewish educator, and essayist. He is credited with co-founding Reconstructionist Judaism, a modern Jewish movement. He also helped found a synagogue and Jewish organization called the Society for the Advancement of Judaism. Renowned for his contributions to the Jewish community, Mordecai Kaplan was honored with the prestigious National Jewish Book Award in 1971.

Born to an architect father in Lithuania, George Maciunas later fled with his family to avoid the Red Army, moving first to Germany and then to the U.S. He was one of the co-founders of the Fluxus movement of artists and architects and also restored many of SoHo’s dilapidated buildings.

Rolandas Paksas is a Lithuanian politician who served as the president of Lithuania from 2003 to 2004. Prior to this, he was the prime minister of Lithuania for two non-consecutive terms. A civil engineer by qualification, he founded a construction company, Restako, prior to joining politics. His political career has been shrouded in controversies. 

Former Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus had fought against the Soviet army during World War II. After fleeing to Germany, he studied in Munich and then migrated to the U.S., where he earned a civil engineering degree. Among his many accolades are honorary doctorates from countless foreign universities.