Aleksandras Stulginskis
A steadfast farmer-president of Lithuania who endured Soviet imprisonment for sixteen years after helping to build its first republic.
1885–1969 (age 84)·Lithuanian politician·Birthday: February 26·The Lost Generation
Biography
Aleksandras Stulginskis was a man of the soil who found his nation's destiny in politics. Trained in agronomy, he co-founded the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and became a central figure in the fledgling state after World War I. Serving as President from 1920 to 1926, his tenure was defined by the arduous work of consolidation: securing international recognition, implementing land reform that broke up large estates, and establishing a constitutional framework. His presidency ended not at the ballot box but in a military coup led by his predecessor. His deeper trial came later; after the Soviet occupation in 1941 and again in 1945, Stulginskis was arrested and sent to the Gulag. He survived sixteen years of imprisonment and exile, a living symbol of Lithuania's crushed independence, finally returning home a few years before his death.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Aleksandras was born in 1885, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Aleksandras Was Born
The biggest hits of 1885
Aleksandras's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1885Born
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1890Started school
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1898Became a teenager
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1901Could drive
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1903Could vote
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Turned 21
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1915Turned 30
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1925Turned 40
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1935Turned 50
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1945Turned 60
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 70
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 80
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1969Died at 84
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
Key Achievements
- Served as the second President of Lithuania (1920-1926), overseeing critical land reform and international recognition.
- Presided over the Constituent Assembly that adopted Lithuania's first democratic constitution in 1922.
- Survived 16 years in Soviet prisons and labor camps, becoming a symbol of national endurance.
Did You Know?
He was formally President for a few hours in 1926 after a coup, solely to legally transfer power back to the coup leader.
Before politics, he studied agriculture and owned a model farm, earning the nickname 'The Farmer President.'
After his return from the Gulag, he worked quietly as a gardener in a Lithuanian monastery.
“The strength of our republic is rooted in the soil of our farms.”
