Antanas Tyla

Garbės profesorius / Honorary Professor (Suteiktas vardas 2008-12-10)

Prof. Tyla was an eminent Lithuanian historian, Habilitated Doctor of Humanities, founder of the Department of History at Vytautas Magnus University, and an expert member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, who was awarded the 4th degree Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in 1998 and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in 2009 for his services to the state of Lithuania and his efforts in promoting Lithuania’s name worldwide. In 2009, he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Anykščiai District. In 2010, the Commission of the Bank of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences awarded him with the prestigious Vladas Jurgutis Award for his book “The Treasury of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania During Twenty Years of War (1648-1667)”.

He was born on 28 October 1929 in Bičionys village, Anykščiai district. From 1951 to 1956, he studied at Vilnius University. After completing his studies, he worked as a teacher at Veiviržėnai Secondary School (Klaipėda district) from 1956 to 1958. Between 1958 and 1989, he held various positions at the Lithuanian Institute of History, including junior researcher, senior researcher, and eventually chief researcher. Between 1989 and 1992 he was the Head of the Institute’s Department of Archaeography, and from 1992 he served as the director and chief researcher of the Institute. In 1991, he established the Department of History at VMU Faculty of Humanities and served as its head and professor until 1997.

The professor authored several historical studies and monographs and published over 100 scientific articles on the topics of political and national culture of the 16th-17th and 19th-20th centuries.

Prof. Tyla was also an expert member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (LAS), a member of the Editorial Board of the LAS journal “Lituanistica”, an academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science (LCAS) and a member of its Executive Board, a member of the Editorial Board of the LCAS Annuals, Chairperson of the World Anykštėnai Community, Chairperson of the Scientific Council of the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, a member of the Scientific Editorial Board of the Lithuanian Universal Encyclopaedia, a board member of the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute, a member of the Commission of Experts for the Restoration and Determination of the Purpose of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, a member of the Commission of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for Research into the History of the Restoration of Lithuania and Commemoration of Memorable Dates, and a board member of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis Council.

Prepared on the basis of information provided by VMU Library.