LIST OF LATVIANS

This is a 'list of prominent Latvians'. It includes:

★ persons who were born in the historical territory of what is now Latvia, regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, or time period; and

★ persons of Latvian descent regardless of their place of birth or citizenship.

Contents

A

B

C

Č

D

E

F

G

Ģ

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

Š

T

U

V

Z

Ž

See also

A

★ Dace Akmentiņa (1858-1936) - actress

★ Jānis Akurāters (1876-1937) - writer

★ Ieva Akurātere (1951) - singer/songwriter

★ Rutanya Alda, born Rutanya Skrastiņa (1942) - actress (Mommy Dearest, Deer Hunter)

★ Viktors Alksnis (1950) - Soviet military officer and Russian politician known as "the Black Colonel"

★ Ādolfs Alunāns (1848-1912) - actor, playwright

★ Edgars Andersons (Edgar Anderson, 1920-1989) - historian

★ Jānis Anmanis (1943) - painter

★ Augusts Annus (1893-1984) - painter

★ Jānis Annus - painter

★ Anna Annus-Hāgena - artist, educator, curator

★ Fricis Apšenieks (1894-1941) - chess player

★ Vija Artmane (1929) - actress

★ Aspazija ''see Elza Rozenberga''

★ Gunārs Astra (1931-1988) - dissident, fighter for human rights

★ Auseklis ''see Miķelis Krogzems''

B

★ Helmuts Balderis (1952) - ice hockey player, forward

★ Jānis Balodis (1950) - Australian playwright

★ Ian Barker (1974) - football, forward, Wigan Athletic fan

★ Krišjānis Barons (1835-1923) - “the father of Latvian folk songs”, who compiled and edited the first publication of Latvian folk-song texts “Latvju Dainas” (1894-1915)

★ Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948) - ballet-dancer

★ Jānis Fridrihs Baumanis (1834-1891) - architect

★ Kārlis Baumanis (1835-1905) - composer, author of the national anthem of the Republic of Latvia "Dievs, svētī Latviju!" (God bless Latvia!)

★ Oskars Aleksandrs Bārs (1848-1914) - architect

★ Vizma Belševica (1931-2005) - author, candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature

★ Eduards Berklavs (1914-2004) - politician, leader of Latvian national-communists

★ Krišjānis Berķis (1884-1942) - general

★ Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) - philosopher

★ Eduard Berzin (1894-1938) - soldier in the Red Army, later Head of Dalstroy, the Kolyma forced-labour camps in North-Eastern Siberia

★ Lilita Bērziņa (1903-1983) - actress

★ Karlis Betinš (1867-1943) - chess player

★ Andris Biedrins (1986) - basketball player, NBA team Warriors

★ Gunnar Birkerts (1925) - architect

★ Bernhards Bīlensteins (1877-1959) - architect

★ Alfreds Bīlmanis (1887-1948) - politician, diplomat, historian

★ Vilhelms Bokslafs (1858-1945) - architect

★ Ernests Blanks (1894–1972) - Latvian publicist, writer, historian, the first to publicly advocate for Latvia's independence

★ Rūdolfs Blaumanis (1863-1908) - writer and playwright

★ Himans Blūms (1913) - painter

★ Mikelis Bukšs - Latgalian ethnographer and linguist

★ Arvīds Blūmentals - "Crocodile Harry", a man living in a cave

★ Calia Brencsons (1966) - actress, producer, playwright

★ Fridrihs Briedis (1885-1918)- Famous Latvian colonel in first world war

C

★ Valters Caps (1905-2003) - designed first Minox 8 x 11 photocameras

★ Gustavs Celmiņš (1899–1968) – fascist politician, leader of Pērkonkrusts movement

★ Vija Celmins (1938) - American painter born in Latvia

★ Jānis Ciaguns (1951) - downhill skier

★ Jānis Cimze (1814-1881) - composer, pedagogue

Č

★ Aleksandrs Čaks (1901-1950) - poet

★ Jānis Čakste (1859-1927) - first Latvian president

★ Konstantīns Čakste (1901-1945) - lawyer and politician

★ Mintauts Čakste - jurist, author, served in Supreme Court Senate of the Republic of Latvia

D

★ Roberts Dambītis (1881-1957) - general and politician

★ Jānis Dāliņš (1904-1978) - athlete, race walker

★ Emīls Dārziņš (1875-1910) - composer

★ Ivans de Kolongs (1839-1901) - naval engineer

★ Augusts Deglavs (1862-1922) - writer

★ Anatols Dinbergs (1911-1993) - diplomat

★ Rūdolfs Filips Donbergs (1864-1918) - architect

★ John Dored (1881-1954) - legendary cameraman, world reporter of Paramount

★ Aleksis Dreimanis (1914) - geologist

★ Inga Drozdova (1975) - model and actress

★ Egons Dunens (1945) - inventor

★ Eriks Dunens (1983) - Famous Minneapolis Hipster

★ Edgars Dunsdorfs (1904-2002) - historian, publicist and economist

E

★ Andrejs Eglītis (1912-2006) - famous Latvian poet and patriot

★ Kārlis Eihenbaums (1961) - diplomat

★ Mihails Eizenšteins (1867-1921) - architect

★ Sergejs Eizenšteins (1898–1948) - film director

★ Modris Eksteins (1943) - Canadian historian and world-famous writer

★ Peteris Elferts (1961) - parliamentary secretary, diplomat

★ Indulis Emsis (1952) - politician

★ Andrievs (Andrew) Ezergailis (1930) - historian of the Holocaust

F

★ Movsas Feigins (1908-1950) - chess player

★ Julijs Feldmans (1889-1953) - diplomat

★ Johans Daniels Felsko (1813-1902) - architect

★ Kārlis Felsko (1844-1918) - architect

★ Gregors Fitelbergs (1879-1953) - conductor, composer and violinist

★ Edmunds Fon Trompovsky (1851-1919) - architect

★ Sandra Freiberga (1961) - journalist and TV personality

★ Laila Freivalds (1942) - Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs

★ Edgars Voldemārs Frīzendorfs (1881-1945) - architect

G

★ Inese Galante (1954) - opera singer (soprano)

★ Lūcija Garūta (1902-1977) - composer

★ Kārlis Goppers (1876-1941) - general, founder of Latvian Boy Scouts

★ Andrejs Grants (1955) - Photographer

★ Austris Grasis (1942) - linguist, ethnographer

★ Aleksandrs Grīns (1895-1941) - writer

★ Ernests Gulbis (1988) - Latvian proffesional tennis player

★ Natalie Gulbis (1983) - Latvian-descent LPGA golfer

Ģ

★ Uldis Ģērmanis (1915-1997) - historian, under the alias of Dr. Ulafs Jāņsons a social commentator

★ Aivars Ģipslis (1937-2000) - chess player

H

★ Morris Halle (1923) - linguist

★ Philippe Halsman (1906-1979) - Latvian/American photographer

★ Juris Hartmanis (1928) - computer scientist, Turing Award winner

★ Alvis Hermanis (1965) - actor/stage director

I

★ Artūrs Irbe (1967) - ice hockey player (NHL), goalkeeper

★ Karlis Irbitis (1904, Latvia - 1997, Canada) - aviation inventor, engineer, designer

★ Aleksandrs Isakovs (1973) - soccer player

J

★ Mariss Jansons (1943) - conductor

★ Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš (1877-1962) - writer and painter

★ Inese Jaunzeme (1932) - athlete

★ Andryvs Jūrdžs (1845-1925) - pioneer of Latgalian literature

K

★ Zelig Hirš Kalmanovič (1885-1944) - philologist, translator, historian, and community archivist

★ Sandra Kalniete (1952) - politician, diplomat, former Latvia's EU commissioner

★ Bruno Kalniņš (1899-1990) - Saeima member, Red Army General

★ Imants Kalniņš (1941) - composer, politician

★ Oskars Kalpaks (1882-1919) - colonel, first Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces

★ Kaspars Kambala (1978) - basketballer, various teams

★ Renārs Kaupers (1974) - musician

★ Jēkabs Ketlers (1610-1682) - Duke of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

★ Jānis Klīdzējs (1914-2000) - writer

★ Gustavs Klucis (1895-1938) - painter and graphic designer

★ Aleksandrs Koblencs (1916-1993) - chess player

★ Abraham Isaac Kook (1864-1935) - Ashkenazi chief rabbi

★ Aleksandrs Kovalevskis (1840-1901) - zoologist

★ Gidon Kremer (1947) - violinist and conductor

★ Miķelis Krogzems (1850-1879) - poet, author and translator of German poets

★ Bruno Kronbergs (1990) - student, actor, charity worker and philanthropist, sound engineer

★ Juris Kronbergs (1946) - poet, writer, free-lance journalist, translator

★ Atis Kronvalds (1837-1875) - teacher and journalist, reformed the Latvian language, organized the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival

★ Dainis Kūla (1959) - athlete (Olympic gold medal in javelin)

★ Alberts Kviesis (1881-1944) - president

L

★ Eižens Laube (1880, Riga - 1967, Portland) - architect

★ Vilis Lācis (1904-1966) - author and politician

★ Ed Leedskalnin (1887-1951) - builder of Coral Castle in Florida, claimed to have discovered the ancient magnetic levitation secrets used to construct the Egyptian pyramids.

★ Jēkabs Mihaels Reinholds Lenc (1751-1792) - author

★ Eizens Leimanis (1905-1992) - mathematician

★ Ludolfs Liberts (1895-1959) - painter/production designer

★ Alexander Liepa (1919-2000) - inventor, artist

★ Yolanda Liepa - Latvian/American pianist

★ Maris Liepa (1936-1989) - ballet-dancer

★ Lidija Liepiņa (1901, Riga -1992, Los Angeles) - actress

★ Edgars Liepiņš (1928-1995) - actor

★ Gvīdo Linga - rock musician

★ Nikolajs Loskijs (1870-1965) - philosopher

★ Pēteris Lūcis (1907-1991) - actor

★ Jānis Lūsis (1939) - only athlete (javelin) in Latvia to have a complete set of Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze)

M

★ Maris Martinsons (1960) - professor of management

★ Hermanis Matisons (1894-1932) - chess player

★ Zenta Mauriņa (1897-1978) - writer, literary scholar, culture philosopher

★ Juris Māters (1845-1884) - author, lawyer and journalist, translated laws to Latvian and created the foundation for Latvian law

★ Jānis Mediņš (1890-1966) - composer, conductor

★ Haralds Mednis (1906-2000) - conductor

★ Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887-1925) - first Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs

★ Kārlis Miesnieks (1887-1977) - Latvian painter

★ Pīters Miglinīks (1852-1883) - Latgalian poet and fighter for social justice

★ Wilhelm Mikhailovsky (1942) - Famous latvian photographer

★ Evgenijs Millers (1867-1938) - czarist Russian general

★ Augusts Mitrēvics (1898, Latvia - 1964, Los Angeles) - actor

★ Kārlis Mīlenbahs (1853-1916) - linguist

N

★ Arkadij Naiditsch (1985) - prolific chess player, now resident in Germany

★ Marija Naumova (1973) - variety singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 under her stage name Marie N

★ Vilhelms Neimanis (1849-1919) - architect

★ Andrievs Niedra (1871-1941) - pastor, writer, prime minister of German puppet government (1919)

★ Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) - influential chess player

★ Valters Nollendorfs (1931) - Educator, Deputy Director for Development, The Occupation Museum,Riga, Latvia

★ Fred Norris (1955) - Radio Personality

O

★ Stanislavs Olijars (1979) - athlete (European champion in 110m Hurdles)

★ Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) - received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities

★ Elvīra Ozoliņa (1939) - athlete (Olympic gold medal in javelin)

★ Arturs Ozoliņš (1946) - pianist

★ Sandis Ozoliņš (1972) - ice hockey player (NHL), defense

★ Valdemārs Ozoliņš (1896-1973) - composer, conductor

P

★ Artis Pabriks (1966) - Minister of Foreign Affairs

★ Karlis Padegs (1911-1940, Riga) Graphic artist, painter

★ Marian Pahars (1976) - soccer player for Southampton FC, and part of Latvia's national team

★ Raimonds Pauls (1936) - popular composer, widely known in Russia

★ Jānis Pauļuks - painter

★ Eduards Pāvuls (1929-2006) - actor

★ Rudolfs Frederiks Peksens (1944) - Briagdier General, US Air Force

★ Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859-1928) - architect

★ Jānis Peters (1939) - poet, politician, diplomat

★ Brita Petersone - American model

★ Kaspars Petrovs (1978) - serial killer

★ Vladimirs Petrovs (1907-1943) - chess player

★ Andris Piebalgs (1957) - politician, diplomat, European Commissioner for Energy

★ Jānis Pliekšāns, 1865-1929), distinguished Latvian writer, author of a number of poetry collections

★ Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) - film director, producer

★ Gunārs Priede (1928-2000) - playwright

★ Jelena Prokopčuka (1976) - winner of the 2005 and 2006 ING

★ Sandis Prūsis (1965) - athlete, bobsleigh

★ Andrejs Pumpurs (1841-1901) - poet, author of Latvian national epic ''Lāčplēsis''

★ Jānis Pujāts (1930) - Roman Catholic cardinal

R

★ Elza Radziņa (1917-2005) - actress

★ Jānis Rapa - publisher

★ Rainis ''see Jānis Pliekšāns''

★ Dr. Konstantīns Raudive (1919-1974) - writer, parapsychologist; claimed to discover means of communicating with souls in the afterlife, the "Raudive voices".

★ Augusts Reinbergs (1860-1908) - architect

★ Einars Repše (1961) - politician

★ Lolita Ritmanis (1962, Portland) - orchestrator, composer

★ Andris Ritmanis - physician, author

★ Brigita Ritmanis - songwriter

★ Fricis Rokpelnis (1909-1969) - author

★ Mark Rothko (1903-1970) - abstract expressionist painter

★ Jānis Roze - publisher

★ Elza Rozenberga (1865-1943) - poet, playwright, married to Jānis Pliekšāns

★ Jānis Rozentāls (1866-1917) - painter

★ Juris Rubenis (1961) - famous Lutheran pastor

★ Mārtiņš Rubenis (1978) - sportsman, bronze medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin

★ Brunis Rubess (1926) - businessman

★ Inta Ruka (1958) - Photographer

★ Augusts Rumpēters (1899-1978) - jurist, served in Supreme Court Senate of the Republic of Latvia

★ Tania Russof (1974) - pornographic actress

S

★ Voldemārs Salnais (1886-1948) - diplomat, statistician

★ Augusts Saulietis (1869-1933) - poet, writer and teacher

★ Kārlis Sebris (1914) - actor

★ Uļjana Semjonova (1952) - tallest female basketball player in the Olympic history, 3-time World Champion

★ Egīls Siliņš - opera singer (basso)

★ Dāvids Sīmonsons (1882-1919) - general, first Commander-in-Chief of Latvian Army

★ Kārlis Skalbe (1879-1945) - poet

★ Baiba Skride (1981) - violinist

★ Lauma Skride (1982) - pianist

★ Linda Skride (1978) - viola player

★ Jurģis Skulme (1928) - artist

★ Vilis Skultāns (1914-1990) - journalist, historian

★ Eduards Smiļģis (1886-1966) - theatre director, actor

★ Konstantin Sokolsky (1904-1991) - romance and tango singer

★ Arnolds Spekke (1887-1972) - historian, diplomat

★ Raimonds Staprans (1926) - latvian/american painter

★ Lina Stern (1878-1968) - biologist and social activist

★ Jānis Stībelis - singer

★ Jānis Stradiņš - scientist

★ Pauls Stradiņš - physician

★ Jānis Streičs (1936) - film director, screenwriter, actor

★ Pēteris Stučka (1865-1932) - author, translator, editor, jurist and educator

★ Olafs Stumbrs (1931-1996) - poet, educator

★ Jānis Sudrabkalns (1894-1975) - poet

★ Evgeny Sveshnikov (1950) - prominent chess player

★ Stanislavs Svianievičs (1899-1997) - economist and historian

Š

★ Viktors Ščerbatihs (1974) - athlete, weightlifter

★ Heinrihs Kārlis Šēls (1829-1909) - architect

★ Pauls Šīmanis (1876-1944) - Baltic German journalist, politician, activist defending and preserving European minority cultures

★ Aleksejs Širovs (1972) - one of the top chess grandmasters in the world today.

★ Andris Šķēle (1958) - politician, Prime Minister of Latvia

★ Aleksandrs Šmēlings (1877-1961) - architect

★ Reinholds Georgs Šmēlings (1840-1917) - architect

★ Ernests Štālbergs (1883-1958) - architect, ensemble of the Freedom Monument

★ Isāks Nahmans Šteinbergs (1888-1957) - politician, lawyer and author

T

★ Mihails Tāls (1936-1992) - the 8th World Chess Champion

★ Karlis Tenisons (1873-1962) - buddhist priest, Ambassador of Dalailama in Soviet Russia, then of Tibet in all Baltic states

★ Jānis Roberts Tilbergs (1880-1972) - painter, sculptor

U

★ Guntis Ulmanis (1939) - president

★ Kārlis Ulmanis (1877-1942) - prime minister

★ Juris Upatnieks - inventor of first hologram

V

★ Romans Vainsteins (1973) - former pro cyclist, World Road Champion in 2000

★ Julian Vaivods - Roman Catholic cardinal of Latvia

★ Māris Valainis (1963) - actor, ("Hoosiers," and "Casualties of War")

★ Krišjānis Valdemārs (1825-1891) - public figure, writer, publicist and economist

★ Pauls Valdens (1863-1957) - chemist

★ Ēvalds Valters (1894-1994) - actor

★ Miķelis Valters (1874-1968) - state official, journalist, diplomat

★ Valdis Valters - one of the best european basketball players ever, playmaker

★ Aleksandrs Vanags (1873-1919) - architect

★ Jūlijs Vanags (1903-1984) - author and translator

★ Alex Vanags-Baginskis (1927) - aviation author/editor

★ Pēteris Vasks (1946) - contemporary composer

★ Jukums Vācietis (1873-1938) - first commander of the Soviet Army

★ Ojārs Vācietis (1933-1983) - poet

★ Eduards Veidenbaums (1867-1892) - poet and translator

★ Makss Veinreihs (1893-1969) - linguist

★ Sigismunds Vidbergs (1890, Jelgava - 1970, New Jersey) - graphic artist

★ Sigurds Vidzirkste (1928-1974) - graphic and painter

★ Igors Vihrovs (1978) - gymnast, gold medalist at Sydney Olympics in 2000.

★ Edvarts Virza (1883-1940)- famous Latvian writer

★ Alvis Vitolinš (1946-1997) - chess master

★ Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (1937) - president

★ Jāzeps Vītols (1863-1948) - composer

★ Eduards Veidenbaums (1867-1892) - Latvian poet.

★ Māris Verpakovskis (1979) - footballer, FC Dynamo Kyiv

★ Aleksandrs Voitkevičs (1963-2006) - chess player

Z

★ Friedrich Zander (1887-1933) - pioneer of rocketry and spaceflight

★ Guntis Zariņš (1926-1965) - author

★ Kārlis Zariņš (Charles Zarine) (1879-1963) - diplomat

★ Rihards Zariņš (1869-1939) - graphic artist

★ Kārlis Zāle (1888-1942) - sculptor, author of the Freedom Monument in Riga

★ Kārlis Zemdega (1894-1963) - sculptor

★ Elmars Zemgalis (1923) - chess player

★ Gustavs Zemgals (1871-1939) - president

★ Imants Zemzaris (1951) - contemporary composer

★ Valdis Zeps (1932-1996) - author and linguist, pseudonym Jānis Turbads

★ Gustavs Zemgals (1871-1939) - president

★ Reinis Zusters (1918) - Latvian/Australian painter

Ž

★ Sergejs Žoltoks (1972-2004) - ice hockey player (NHL), forward

See also

★ List of North European Jews

★ Prime Minister of Latvia