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List Of Latvians
This list of prominent Latvians includes: * people who were born in the historical territory of what is now Latvia, regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, or time period; and * people of Latvian descent regardless of their place of birth or citizenship. A * Valerians Abakovskis (1895–1921) – inventor of a propeller-powered railcar, the aerowagon * Rutanya Alda (Rutanya Alda Skrastiņa, born 1942) – actress (''Mommie Dearest'', ''The Deer Hunter'') * Lidiia Alekseeva (1909–1989), Latvian poet and writer of short stories * Viktor Alksnis (born 1950) – Soviet military officer and Russian communist politician known as "the Black Colonel" * Juris Alunāns (1832–1864) – writer and philologist * Ingrīda Andriņa (1944–2015) – actress * Iveta Apkalna (born 1976) – organist * Fricis Apšenieks (1894–1941) – chess player * Vija Artmane (1929–2008) – actress * Aspazija, pen-name of Elza Pliekšāne (1865–1943) – poet and playwright * Gunārs Astra (1931� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvians
Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language, culture, history and ancestry. History A Balto-Finnic-speaking tribe known as the Livs settled among the northern coast of modern day Latvia. The Germanic settlers derived their name for the natives from the term Liv. They referred to all the natives as "Letts" and the nation as "Lettland", naming their colony Livonia or Livland. The Latin form, ''Livonia'', gradually referred to the whole territory of modern-day Latvia as well as southern Estonia, which had fallen under Germanic influence. Latvians and Lithuanians are the only surviving members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family. Culture Influences Latvians share a common language and have a unique culture with traditions, holidays, customs and arts. The culture a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miķelis Krogzemis
Miķelis Krogzemis (18 September 1850, Ungurpils – 6 February 1879, Saint Petersburg, Russia), better known by his pen name Auseklis* was a poet from the Russian Empire who wrote in Latvian and prominent member of the Young Latvians movement. Biography Miķelis Krogzemis was born in Sīpoli, Ungurpils to a peasant family. He attended parochial school in Aloja, Latvia, Aloja and later in Ērgļi. In Ērgļi, he met members of the Jurjāni family, who got him in touch with the Young Latvian movement. In 1868, he was admitted to the teachers' seminary in Valka under the leadership of Latvian composer Jānis Cimze. While in Valka, he studied European literature and philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment. After graduating in 1871, Krogzemis begin his teaching career in Jaunpiebalga, but was soon forced to leave the school due to conflicts with the local pastor. He then taught briefly in Cēsis before moving to Lielvārde to teach. In Lielvārde, he became active in the local cult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krišjānis Berķis
Krišjānis Berķis (April 26, 1884, in Īslīce parish, Bauska municipality, Courland, modern Latvia – July 29, 1942, in Perm, Russia) was a Latvian general. Rising to prominence as an officer of the Latvian Riflemen in World War I, he was promoted to the rank of general during the Latvian War of Independence, and served on the Army General Staff after the war. After the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States, he was deported to Siberia and died in a Gulag labor camp. Biography Krišjānis Berķis was born on April 26, 1884, in the farmer's homestead Bērzkrogs, Īslīce parish, Courland. He graduated from a local parish school and the Bauska city school. After his graduation, he decided to become a soldier, and entered Vilnius military school. He graduated in 1906 in the rank of podporuchik. He then served in the 2nd. Finnish rifleman regiment in Helsinki. During his service in Grand Duchy of Finland, he married a Finnish girl named Hilma Lehtonen (1887-1961). In 190 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eduards Berklavs
Eduards Berklavs (June 15, 1914 – November 25, 2004) was a Soviet and Latvian politician. Eduards Berklavs was born in Kurmāle Parish, which is part of the Kuldīga Municipality as of today. During his youth, he was active in labour and communist organizations. In the 1930s, he was arrested and served a prison sentence for his communist activities. After Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union in the 1940, Berklavs, with a background as a Komsomol and Communist Party official, rose to become the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of Latvian SSR in the 1950s. In this position, he opposed the Soviet policies of Russification, supported a larger role for the Latvian language, and proposed to limit immigration from other parts of the Soviet Union to Latvia. This led to him being labelled as Latvian nationalist and deposed from his position in 1959. He later wrote the Letter of 17 Latvian communists, where he accused the Soviet government of "Great Russian chauvinism" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobel Prize In Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction" (original ). Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions, the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018. Background Alfred Nobel stipulated in his last will and testament that his money be used to create a series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vizma Belševica
Vizma Belševica (May 30, 1931 – August 6, 2005) was a Latvian poet, writer, and translator. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Biography Belševica was born in Riga. Her father, Žanis Belševics was a worker, and her mother Vera Belševica (maiden name Cīrule), was a housewife. The family was relatively poor, as only one of the two spouses did paid work. Vizma's father had drinking problems, which aggravated when he lost his job as a baker during the Great Depression. Vizma Belševica was born on May 30, 1931, in pre-war Riga, then the capital of democratic Latvia, where she spent most of her childhood. The city is often featured in her works, especially in her most famous work — the autobiographic trilogy "BILLE"—, but the time spent in Courland, on her relatives' small farm has also an important role in her poetry and writings. Her son Klāvs Elsbergs was a famous Latvian poet in the 1980s, and her second son Jānis is a writer as well. Recogniti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dievs, Svētī Latviju!
"" is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920. History The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvians, Young Latvian nationalist movement. It is thought that Baumanis was inspired by a popular song "Dievs, svētī Kurzemi/Vidzemi" (, which was modified depending on the region it was used in) that was sung to the tune of "God Save the King". Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltic governorates, Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until it was chosen as national anthem on June 7, 1920, and the word "Baltics" was replaced with " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European nations tend towards more ornate and operatic pieces, while those in the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, and the Caribbean use a more simplistic fanfare. Some countries that are devolved into multiple constituent states have their own official musical compositions for them (such as with the United Kingdom, Russia, and the Soviet Union); their constituencies' songs are sometimes referred to as national anthems even though they are not sovereign states. History In the early modern period, some European monarchies adopted royal anthems. Some of these anthems have survived into current use. " God Save the King/Queen", first performed in 1619, remains the royal anthem of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms . , adopted as the roya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kārlis Baumanis
Kārlis Baumanis (11 May 1835 – 10 January 1905), better known as Baumaņu Kārlis, was an ethnic Latvian composer in the Russian Empire. He is the author of the lyrics and music of ''Dievs, svētī Latviju! '' (“God bless Latvia!”), the national anthem of Latvia. Kārlis Baumanis was the first composer to use the word “Latvia” in the lyrics of a song, in the 19th century, when Latvia was still a part of the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl .... Biography Kārlis Baumanis was born on 11 May 1835, in Viļķene (Wilkenhof), in the family of peasants Jekab and Anna Baumanis. He wrote and composed the Latvian national anthem "God bless Latvia" in 1870. He lived and worked in Limbaži (Lemsal) as a teacher and a journalist. One of the most sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical ballet dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently became a noted dance director. Born into a Russian family in Riga, Baryshnikov had a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in Western dance. After dancing with the American Ballet Theatre, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for one season to learn about George Balanchine's neoclassical Russian style of movement. He then returned to the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director. Baryshnikov has spearheaded many of his own artistic projects and has been associated in particular with promoting modern dance, premiering dozens of new works, including many of his ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krišjānis Barons
Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the Daina (Latvia), dainas" (), largely thanks to his systematization of the Latvian folk song, folk songs, and his labour in preparing their texts for publication in ''Latvju dainas''. His portrait appeared on the 100-Latvian lats, lat banknote prior to the Lat being replaced by the Euro in 2014, his being the only human face of an actual person on modern Latvian currency. Barons was very prominent among the Young Latvians, and was also an important writer and editor. Latvju dainas Background and importance Barons is well known as the creator of ''Latvju dainas'', published between 1894 and 1915 in six volumes, and includes 217,996 folk songs. Barons though, was not the author of the original idea, neither did he collect the texts, nor rewrite all the received texts on the tiny paper slips of the famous Cabinet of Folksongs (''Dainu skapis''), though there is a signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kārlis Balodis
Kārlis Balodis (; June 20, 1864 – January 13, 1931) was a notable Latvian economist, financist, statistician and demographist. Most notably, he is the author of civilian rationing, which was first used in Germany during the First World War. Balodis has received the Grand Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the Dmitry Tolstoy Prize. Biography He was the youngest among three children; his grandfather was a preacher at the Vidzeme's church. Carl lost his father and mother early in his life. The family moved to Riga, where they lived in very cramped conditions. He was self-taught, and in 1883, as external candidate, he graduated from gymnasium in Jelgava. He studied theology in Dorpat during 1884-1887. In 1888, he was ordained as a Lutheran pastor and went to Brazil, where in 1889-1891, he unsuccessfully tried to establish a Latvian colony. In 1891-1892, he studied geography at the University of Jena in Germany and defended his doctoral thesis. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
