Edvardas Gudavičius

Edvardas Gudavičius (6 September 1929 – 27 January 2020) was a Lithuanian historian. He was known as one of the best historians in Lithuania specializing in the early history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is an author of many publications.

Biography
In 1953, he graduated from Kaunas Polytechnic Institute with a degree in engineering. Gudavičius started his career as a mechanic at one of the factories in Kaunas, but in 1958 moved to Vilnius. In 1962, he enrolled to Vilnius State University of Vincas Kapsukas seeking a degree in history. In 1991, he earned the title of professor. He was a full member of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.

To the wider public he was mostly known for his work together with Alfredas Bumblauskas on the long-running TV show Būtovės slėpiniai, a talk show dedicated to topics of the history of Lithuania. Gudavičius was a frequent contributor to various reference works, including the 25-volume Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija. He also published works on the Statutes of Lithuania.

Dissertations

 * 1971 Lithuanian serfage process and its reflection in The first Statute
 * 1989 Lithuania in the Balts' war against German aggression in 13th century

Publications

 * Žymenys ir ženklai Lietuvoje XII-XX a., Vilnius, 1981, 131 p.
 * Pirmasis Lietuvos Statutas (together with Stanislovas Lazutka), Vilnius, 1983, t. 1, d. 1: Paleografinė ir tekstologinė nuorašų analizė; Vilnius, 1985, t. 1, d. 2: Dzialinskio, Lauryno ir Ališavos nuorašų faksimilės; Vilnius, 1991, t. 2, d. 1: Tekstai senąja baltarusių, lotynų ir senąja lenkų kalbomis. ISBN 5-417-00548-7.
 * Kryžiaus karai Pabaltijyje ir Lietuva XIII amžiuje, Vilnius, 1989, 192 p. ISBN 5-420-00241-8.
 * Miestų atsiradimas Lietuvoje, Vilnius, 1991, 95 p. ISBN 5-420-00723-1.
 * Mindaugas, Vilnius, 1998, 360 p. ISBN 9986-34-020-9.
 * Lietuvos istorija. Nuo seniausių laikų iki 1569 metų, Vilnius, 1999, 664 p. ISBN 9986-39-112-1.
 * , Vilnius, 2002, 116 p. ISBN 9955-445-55-6.
 * Lietuvos europėjimo keliais: istorinės studijos, Vilnius, 2002, 384 p. ISBN 9955-445-42-4.
 * Lietuvos akto promulgacijos kelias: nuo Vytauto kanceliarijos iki Lietuvos Metrikos, Vilnius, 2006, 80 p. ISBN 9986-19-913-1.

Awards
Gudavičius received these awards:
 * Lithuanian National Prize, 1995
 * The Commander's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, Lithuania, 1999
 * The Commander's Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great, Lithuania, 2003.