Cultural Production in
Present Day
Latvia
Latvia
Latvia ranks 52nd in number of biographies on Pantheon, behind Estonia, Slovenia, and Lithuania. Memorable people born in present day Latvia include Sergei Eisenstein, Wilhelm Ostwald, and Mikhail Tal. Memorable people who died in Latvia include Eugen d'Albert, Kim Ki-duk, and Friedrich Jeckeln. Latvia has been the birth place of many politicians, and athletes and the death place of many writers, and politicians.
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.8 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians, who are the titular nation and comprise 65.5% of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian as their native tongue. Read more on Wikipedia
People
Between 0 and 2003, present day Latvia was the birth place of 374 globally memorable people, including Sergei Eisenstein, Wilhelm Ostwald, and Mikhail Tal. Additionaly, 77 globally memorable people have passed away in present day Latvia including Eugen d'Albert, Kim Ki-duk, and Friedrich Jeckeln.
People Born in Present Day Latvia
Go to all RankingsSergei Eisenstein
FILM DIRECTOR
1898 - 1948
HPI: 80.15
Rank: 53
Wilhelm Ostwald
CHEMIST
1853 - 1932
HPI: 78.43
Rank: 71
Mikhail Tal
CHESS PLAYER
1936 - 1992
HPI: 75.71
Rank: 82
Mark Rothko
PAINTER
1903 - 1970
HPI: 74.57
Rank: 84
Isaiah Berlin
PHILOSOPHER
1909 - 1997
HPI: 72.20
Rank: 353
Mariss Jansons
MUSICIAN
1943 - 2019
HPI: 71.29
Rank: 348
Mikhail Baryshnikov
DANCER
1948 - Present
HPI: 71.16
Rank: 143
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
POLITICIAN
1937 - Present
HPI: 70.55
Rank: 116
Kārlis Ulmanis
POLITICIAN
1877 - 1942
HPI: 70.42
Rank: 74
Nicolai Hartmann
PHILOSOPHER
1882 - 1950
HPI: 69.77
Rank: 52
Ernst Gideon von Laudon
POLITICIAN
1717 - 1790
HPI: 69.27
Rank: 15
Aron Nimzowitsch
WRITER
1886 - 1935
HPI: 68.87
Rank: 371
Newly Added People Born in Present Day Latvia
Go to all RankingsAndrejs Prohorenkovs
SOCCER PLAYER
1977 - 2025
HPI: 50.94
Rank: 339
Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis
POLITICIAN
1962 - Present
HPI: 46.84
Rank: 346
Gundars Vētra
BASKETBALL PLAYER
1967 - Present
HPI: 44.66
Rank: 345
Dons
SINGER
1984 - Present
HPI: 44.66
Rank: 335
Dace Melbārde
POLITICIAN
1971 - Present
HPI: 43.18
Rank: 344
Herberts Vasiļjevs
HOCKEY PLAYER
1976 - Present
HPI: 42.42
Rank: 342
Gints Zilbalodis
WRITER
1994 - Present
HPI: 42.18
Rank: 327
Aleksandrs Ņiživijs
HOCKEY PLAYER
1976 - Present
HPI: 40.32
Rank: 341
Andrejs Štolcers
SOCCER PLAYER
1974 - Present
HPI: 39.85
Rank: 343
Jeļena Rubļevska
ATHLETE
1976 - Present
HPI: 39.53
Rank: 340
Oskars Kļava
SOCCER PLAYER
1983 - Present
HPI: 37.68
Rank: 336
Aleksandrs Čekulajevs
SOCCER PLAYER
1985 - Present
HPI: 37.63
Rank: 334
People Deceased in Present Day Latvia
Go to all RankingsEugen d'Albert
COMPOSER
1864 - 1932
HPI: 68.45
Rank: 66
Kim Ki-duk
FILM DIRECTOR
1960 - 2020
HPI: 68.21
Rank: 9
Friedrich Jeckeln
EXTREMIST
1895 - 1946
HPI: 67.94
Rank: 40
Albert of Riga
PHYSICIAN
1165 - 1229
HPI: 67.92
Rank: 44
Gotthard Kettler
POLITICIAN
1517 - 1587
HPI: 67.92
Rank: 29
Jacob Kettler
POLITICIAN
1610 - 1682
HPI: 67.51
Rank: 22
Viktor Tsoi
SINGER
1962 - 1990
HPI: 67.15
Rank: 35
Vsevolod Pudovkin
FILM DIRECTOR
1893 - 1953
HPI: 67.08
Rank: 38
Ernst Johann von Biron
POLITICIAN
1690 - 1772
HPI: 66.13
Rank: 43
Henry of Latvia
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1187 - 1259
HPI: 65.93
Rank: 42
Rainis
WRITER
1865 - 1929
HPI: 65.60
Rank: 25
Jānis Čakste
POLITICIAN
1859 - 1927
HPI: 65.53
Rank: 27
Newly Added People Deceased in Present Day Latvia
Go to all RankingsOccupations
Most individuals born in present day Latvia were politicians (63), athletes (61), writers (30), soccer players (30), and basketball players (25), while most who died were writers (20), politicians (16), composers (6), military personnels (5), and religious figures (4).
Occupational Trends
Over the past 100 years, athletes have been the top profession of globally memorable people born in present day Latvia, including Jānis Lūsis, Inese Jaunzeme, and Afanasijs Kuzmins. Whereas, throughout history, politicians have been the profession with the most memorable people born in present day Latvia, including Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Kārlis Ulmanis, and Ernst Gideon von Laudon.
Places
Overlapping Lives
Below is a visual represetation of the lifespans of the top 25 globally memorable people born in present day Latvia since 1700.




































