Bernardas Kodatis

Bernardas Otonas Liudvikas Kodatis (18 July 1879 – 5 July 1957) was a Lithuanian astronomer and geodesist who was twelfth director of the Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory (1940–1944). He is remembered for giving rise to the science of astronomy in inter-war Lithuania, helping to raise a new generation of astronomers including Paulius Slavėnas, Antanas Juška, and Česlovas Masaitis.

Biography Early life Bernardas Otonas Liudvikas Kodatis was born on 18 July 1879 in Potsdam, the German Empire. His father Augustinas died when Kodatis was eleven years old. Kodatis's uncle Otto, an editor in a German publishing house, subsequently took care of the family. Otto was well-versed in the history of Lithuania and Lithuania Minor, and would remind the young Kodatis of his family's roots in Samogitia (Kodatis's great-grandfather was from that region). Kodatis also made his own family tree. in 1910, Kodatis was invited to study astronomy or mathematics, but following his uncle's advice joined a teachers' seminary.

Teaching career After graduating from the teachers' seminary, Kodatis nonetheless began studying astronomy, working as a mathematician in an observatory in the meantime. After finishing his studies, Kodatis did not stay at the university or the observatory, and instead moved to Lithuania Minor to teach along with his wife Viktorija Kodatienė née Gruzdytė. In 1910, Kodatis taught at Tawellningken . In 1912, he moved to , and later, in 1914, to in . into the Imperial German Army's artillery unit stationed in Tilsit and Königsberg. Kodatis was awarded the Independence Medal as well as the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 4th degree.

Second World War After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940, Kodatis was made the director of the Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory. His former observatory near Kaunas was occupied by the Soviet army, and both observatories' research was halted. After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the retreating Soviet army destroyed almost the entirety of the Kaunas 1st Fort observatory. The new German authorities began to limit astronomical research in Vilnius, and later on even prohibited Kodatis from entering the Vilnius observatory. However, like many lecturers of the time, Kodatis continued to secretly lecture to students. In his spare time, Kodatis summarized the results of his previous research and was the first to collect data on the development of the astronomical knowledge of Lithuanian folk since ancient times. Kodatis also saved the Vilnius observatory from an explosion in 1944. However, the approaching front and the retreat of the Lithuanian intelligentsia to the West forced Kodatis to do the same; after the Soviet army was near Vilnius, Kodatis with his family immigrated.

Immigration and later years At first, Kodatis's family lived in Germany settled in Austria. After his son Kęstutis Augustas and wife settled in the United States and found a job, Kodatis, who was living in Wangen im Allgäu from 1944, got permission to join them in the country in 1951. However, Kodatis never managed to find a significant job, and his scientific work in the United States was never recognized. Kodatis died on 5 July 1957 in Chicago. He is buried in the Lithuanian National Cemetery.