Simonas Daukantas was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book on the history of Lithuania written in the Lithuanian language. Only a few of his works were published during his lifetime and he died in obscurity. However, his works were rediscovered during the later stages of the National Revival. His views reflected the three major trends of the 19th century: romanticism, nationalism, and liberalism.

The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism, was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian Empire. It was expressed by the rise of self-determination of the Lithuanians that led to the formation of the modern Lithuanian nation and culminated in the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state. The most active participants of the national revival included Vincas Kudirka and Jonas Basanavičius. The period largely corresponded to the rise of romantic nationalism and other national revivals of 19th-century Europe.