Wikipedia
Mindaugas is a Lithuanian masculine given name and may refer to the following individuals:
- Mindaugas (ca. 1203–1263), Lithuanian medieval Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Lithuania
- Mindaugas II (1864–1928), German prince who was elected King of Lithuania in 1918 but never reigned
- Mindaugas Girdžiūnas (born 1989), Lithuanian basketball player
- Mindaugas Grigalevičius (born 1981), Lithuanian football striker
- Mindaugas Griškonis (born 1986), Lithuanian rower and Olympic competitor
- Mindaugas Kalonas (born 1984), Lithuanian football midfielder
- Mindaugas Katelynas (born 1983) Lithuanian basketball power forward
- Mindaugas Lukauskis (born 1979), Lithuanian basketball shooting forward and small forward
- Mindaugas Malinauskas (born 1983), Lithuanian footballer goalkeeper
- Mindaugas Mizgaitis (born 1979), Lithuanian wrestler and Olympic medalist
- Mindaugas Murza (born 1973), Lithuanian nationalist politician
- Mindaugas Panka (born 1984), Lithuanian football midfiedler and defender
- Mindaugas Piečaitis (born 1969), Lithuanian composer and conductor
- Mindaugas Rojus (born 1981), Lithuanian opera baritone
- Mindaugas Sadauskas (born 1990), Lithuanian swimmer and Olympic competitor
- Mindaugas Timinskas (born 1974), Lithuanian basketball small forward and Olympic competitor
- Mindaugas Žukauskas (born 1975), Lithuanian basketball small forward, captain and manager
Mindaugas (, , , , c. 1203 – fall 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. During the summer of 1253 he was crowned King of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects.
While his ten-year reign was marked by various state-building accomplishments, Mindaugas's conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued, and Samogitia (western Lithuania) strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis gained the title of Grand Duke c. 1270.
Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only King of Lithuania; while most of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as Kings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of the Lithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization. In the 1990s the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. This day is now an official national holiday, Statehood Day.