List of Famous people born in Latvia

Jēkabs Peterss was a Latvian Communist revolutionary who played a part in the establishment of the Soviet Union. Together with Felix Dzerzhinsky, he was one of the founders and chiefs of the Cheka, the secret police of the Soviet Russia. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Cheka from 1918 and briefly the acting Chairman of the Cheka from 7 July to 22 August 1918.

Erik Hornung is an Egyptologist and one of the most influential modern writers on ancient Egyptian religion. He is Professor Emeritus of Basel University.

Walter Zapp was a Baltic German inventor. His greatest creation was the Minox subminiature camera.

Feodor Stepanovich "Rojan" Rojankovsky, also known as Rojan, was a Russian émigré illustrator. He is well known both for children's book illustration and for erotic art. He won the 1956 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration from the American Library Association, recognizing Frog Went A-Courtin' by John Langstaff.

Lya Mara was a Polish actress. She was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema.

Haralds Silovs is a Latvian long track and former short track speed skater, who became the 2008 European champion in short track. During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he gained worldwide media attention after competing in the 1500 m short track and 5000 m long track speed skating events in the same day, 13 February. He is the first athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics to compete in both short track and long track events at the same Games, and the only athlete to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.