Povilas Matulionis (17 September 1860 – 15 March 1932) was a Lithuanian forester, often named as the "father" of scientific forestry in Lithuania. He was an activist of the Lithuanian National Revival and vice minister of agriculture and state resources from July 1919 to January 1924. Educated at the Forestry Institute in Saint Petersburg, Matulionis worked for the Foresters' Corps of the Russian Empire from 1889 to 1918. He lived in Vilnius in 1894–1907 which allowed him to join Lithuanian cultural life and became a member of the Twelve Apostles of Vilnius and later the Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius. He directed the first Lithuanian theater performances in the city and organized the first legal five-year co-ed Lithuanian school. When Lithuania regained independence, Matulionis led the country's Forestry Department (1918–1921) and was vice minister of agriculture and state resources (1919–1924). In March–April 1919, he was effectively the minister as no minister was selected in the short-lived government of the prime minister Pranas Dovydaitis. In 1921, Matulionis started teaching forestry at the agricultural technical school in Dotnuva. He officially became professor and director of the Forestry Department of University of Lithuania in January 1923. Agricultural and forestry subjects were transferred to the dedicated Agriculture Academy in Dotnuva (present-day Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy). Matulionis was the first rector of the Agriculture Academy (1924–1928). The forestry section of the academy was closed and Matulionis retired in December 1928. Matulionis published more than 150 works, which included a number of articles and books on forestry, a dictionary of about 3,000 Lithuanian plant names, and a color poster with a calendar indicating the breeding seasons of various fish species. He compiled a topographic map of Lithuania and made a plaster model of the topography of Lithuania and Latvia in 1922. He also co-authored the first Lithuanian math textbook in 1885 and published a poetry collection in 1888.
Biography
Early life and education Matulionis was born on 17 September [O.S. 5 September] 1860 into a family of Lithuanian peasants. He was the youngest of ten children; two of his siblings died in childhood. He learned to read at home and attended a primary school in Vėžionys. He graduated with excellent grades in 1873, but his father had died and he had no funds for further education. Nevertheless, with two other local boys he enrolled into the Dinaburg Realgymnasium in November 1874. He struggled financially and for some time slept in a dormitory hallway because he could not afford to rent a room. He later earned some money by tutoring and also received a government stipend of 150 Russian rubles per year. He was a good student, particularly in history, geography, and mathematics. He completed the main course in June 1881, but lacked chemistry which was needed to attend a technical school. Therefore, he took another year of chemistry classes. He considered various Russian educational institutions but had no funds. Convinced by a local priest, he briefly enrolled into the Kaunas Priest Seminary in 1882. He was judged unfit for military service and thus avoided conscription to the Russian Army. In 1883, he took exams for the Institute of Civil Engineers in Saint Petersburg and was placed on a waiting list. Matulionis was briefly arrested in connection with the murder of the police chief Georgy Sudeykin. He was released but ordered to leave Saint Petersburg. He returned to Dinaburg and worked as a tutor. In 1885, he tried again and this time was accepted into the Forestry Institute in Saint Petersburg. To be admitted, he had to provide a letter from Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Dolgorukov, Governor of Vitebsk that he was not politically suspect. He was a good student and, after the second year, received a government stipend of 30 rubles per month.
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