WRITERS from Latvia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Latvian Writers of all time. This list of famous Latvian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Latvian Writers.

1. Aron Nimzowitsch (1886 - 1935)

With an HPI of 61.78, Aron Nimzowitsch is the most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Aron Nimzowitsch (Latvian: Ārons Nimcovičs; Russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was one of the best chess players in the world. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns and wrote a very influential book on chess theory: My System (1925–1927). Nimzowitsch's seminal work Chess Praxis, originally published in German in 1929, was purchased by a pre-teen and future World Champion Tigran Petrosian and was to have a great influence on his development as a chess player.

2. Rainis (1865 - 1929)

With an HPI of 58.32, Rainis is the 2nd most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Jānis Pliekšāns (11 September 1865 – 12 September 1929), known by his pseudonym Rainis, was a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. Rainis' works include the classic plays Uguns un nakts (Fire and Night, 1905) and Indulis un Ārija (Indulis and Ārija, 1911), and a highly regarded translation of Goethe's Faust. His works had a profound influence on the literary Latvian language, and the ethnic symbolism he employed in his major works has been central to Latvian nationalism.

3. Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751 - 1792)

With an HPI of 57.22, Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz is the 3rd most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the Sturm und Drang movement.

4. Barbara von Krüdener (b. 1764)

With an HPI of 55.94, Barbara von Krüdener is the 4th most famous Latvian Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Beate Barbara Juliane Freifrau von Krüdener (née Freiin von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel; 22 November [O.S. 11] 1764 – 25 December [O.S. 13] 1824), often called by her formal French name, Madame de Krüdener, was a Baltic German religious mystic, author, and Pietist Lutheran theologian who exerted influence on wider European Protestantism, including the Swiss Reformed Church and the Moravian Church, and whose ideas influenced Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

5. Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (1876 - 1945)

With an HPI of 55.93, Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski is the 5th most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (Polish pronunciation: [fɛrˈdɨ.nant anˈtɔ.ɲi ɔs.sɛnˈdɔf.ski]; 27 May 1876 – 3 January 1945) was a Polish writer, explorer, university professor, and anticommunist political activist. He is known for his books about Lenin and the Russian Civil War in which he participated.

6. Aspazija (1865 - 1943)

With an HPI of 55.89, Aspazija is the 6th most famous Latvian Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Aspazija was the pen name of Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), a Latvian poet and playwright. Aspazija is the Latvian transliteration of Aspasia.

7. Vilis Lācis (1904 - 1966)

With an HPI of 53.91, Vilis Lācis is the 7th most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Vilis Lācis (born Jānis Vilhelms Lāce (Old orthography: Jahn Wilhelm Lahze) on 12 May 1904, died 6 February 1966) was a Latvian writer and communist politician.

8. Maria Skobtsova (1891 - 1945)

With an HPI of 53.91, Maria Skobtsova is the 8th most famous Latvian Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Maria Skobtsova (20 [8 Old Calendar] December 1891 – 31 March 1945), known as Mother Maria (Russian: Мать Мария), Saint Mary (or Mother Maria) of Paris, born Elizaveta Yurievna Pilenko (Елизавета Юрьевна Пиленко), Kuzmina-Karavayeva (Кузьмина-Караваева) by her first marriage, Skobtsova (Скобцова) by her second marriage, was a Russian noblewoman, poet, nun, and member of the French Resistance during World War II. She has been canonized a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is remembered with a Lesser Feast in the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Australia.

9. Kristjan Jaak Peterson (1801 - 1822)

With an HPI of 53.51, Kristjan Jaak Peterson is the 9th most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Kristian Jaak Peterson (14 March [O.S. 2 March] 1801, Riga – 4 August [O.S. 23 July] 1822, Riga), also known as Christian Jacob Petersohn, was an Estonian poet, commonly regarded as a herald of Estonian national literature and the founder of modern Estonian poetry. His birthday on March 14 is celebrated in Estonia as Mother Tongue Day.

10. Anšlavs Eglītis (1906 - 1993)

With an HPI of 52.92, Anšlavs Eglītis is the 10th most famous Latvian Writer.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Anšlavs Eglītis (October 14, 1906 – March 4, 1993) was a Latvian writer, journalist and painter who became a war refugee in 1944. He had a prolific career as a novelist, and his later work often examined aspects of exile life.