The world knows Latvia by…
Technical and scientific achievements
The world's smallest mechanical camera, the Minox, and its inventor Walter Zapp (1905-2003)
In 1937, the State Electrotechnical Plant (Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika-VEF) began production in Riga of the world's first functioning miniature camera, the VEF Minox, invented by Walter Zapp from Riga. This was an entirely novel kind of camera, which, thanks to its simplicity and ease of use, not only promoted amateur photography, but also opened up completely new possibilities. This miniature camera (17 x 27 x 80 mm, 125 g.), without any additional equipment, gives a sharp, high-contrast image at a distance of as little as 20 cm, and the image can be enlarged up to 20 times without losing quality. With its 8×11 mm film, the camera also became an immediate favourite among secret agents, who praised its capacity for rapid and technically simple photographing of documents in excellent quality. Although the Minox soon became known as the legendary 'spy camera', most have in fact been sold to ordinary, peace-loving buyers. It still remains in production.
The invention of nitrate fertilizers and Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932)
The outstanding Riga-born chemist Wilhelm Ostwald, professor at Riga Polytechnic and Leipzig University, worked intensively from 1875 on the analysis of catalytic chemical processes and discovered the fundamental laws of homogenous catalysis of acids and bases, without which the modern-day chemical industry is unimaginable. The method of obtaining nitric acid devised by Ostwald (the 'Ostwald Process') was first applied during the First World War for making explosives. Also, he made a major contribution to the production of chemicals that raise agricultural productivity. Ostwald developed a new theory and method for catalytic oxidation of ammonia, used in making nitrogen fertilisers. Thus, thanks to Ostwald's contribution to our knowledge of the processes of chemical catalysis, a revolution in farming could take place. Ostwald was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1909.
Founder of embryology Christian Heinrich Pander (1794-1865)
Anatomist and palaeontologist Christian Pander may be regarded as the founder of embryology. For many years (1827-1842), the scientist worked on his estate at Carnikava, near Riga. Here, he studied the embryonic development of the chicken inside the egg, investigated Palaeozoic rock strata and was the first to describe the remains of the ancient, primitive creatures known as conodonts. Likewise, Pander studied the fossil armoured fish found in Silurian and Devonian strata in the Baltic. Pander's research led him to conclude that the living world had developed through long-term, uninterrupted evolution, so he is regarded among scientists as one of the most prominent evolutionists before Darwin. The research begun by Pander was continued by his associate, another Baltic scientist Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876).
African explorer Georg August Schweinfurth (1836-1925)
The life of ethnologist, palaeontologist and botanist Schweinfurth began in Riga, but he was educated at several universities in Germany. The name of this Rigan became known in the world in 1868, when the Humboldt Foundation in Berlin commissioned him to undertake a major research expedition to Central and East Africa. In the course of this journey, in March 1870, he discovered the River Welle (Uele) and explored the upper Nile basin, charting the western feeders of the White Nile, previously shrouded in mystery. Also very important is his research on the inhabitants of the region and the flora and fauna. Thus, for example, Schweinfurth was the first to describe in detail the cannibalistic practices of the Mangbettu people and made the first study of the pygmy tribes, settling the question as to the presence of pygmies in tropical Africa. In the 1860s and 70s, Schweinfurth was regarded as the leading African specialist and one of the foremost authorities on the origin of cultivated plants.
Rocket science and Friedrich Zander (1887-1933)
Riga-born Friedrich Zander began work already in 1908 on jet engine technology, turning in 1917 to the technology and science of space rocketry. He is regarded as one of the world's pioneers of rocket-building and astronautics. Zander worked systematically on the development of rocketry and examined the possibilities of interplanetary travel. In 1929-1933, Zander, at that time in Moscow, Russia, designed the first jet-propelled rocket engines powered with liquid fuel (GIRD-10). He had the idea of using the gravitational force of the Moon and the other planets of the Solar System for rapid interplanetary travel, and likewise he developed the theoretical basis for what still seemed quite fantastic ideas at the time, but became reality in the second half of the 20th century: the 'cosmic greenhouse', the 'winged rocket' and the 'space plane'. Zander also developed ideas that still await realisation, such as using the force of light for spaceship propulsion. A crater on the moon and a small planet bear Zander's name.
Inventor of the airborne warning and control system-AWACS-Konstantīns Počs (1912-1994)
Konstantīns Počs is one of the most outstanding Latvian scientists and inventors. After more than 30 years of work in the US air force laboratory in Boston, he became a leading designer of meteorological rockets and one of the creators of AWACS. This is a radar-based electronic system designed to carry out airborne surveillance and command, control and communications functions for both tactical and air defence forces. Computers, along with communications and control instruments of the highest standard, are installed in the aircraft. A rotating "rotodome" is built on the top of the aeroplane tail, in which a radar and identification antennas are installed, supplying the crew with data that are evaluated by computers and other instruments on board. The system is designed and built by Boeing, the aircraft being in the service of NATO and the air forces of the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Japan. Počs' patents are the property of the US air force laboratory.
Discoverer of the origin of oil Pauls Valdens (1863-1957)
Latvian chemist Pauls Valdens (known abroad as Paul Walden) was the first scientist to determine the origin of oil (petroleum). Right up to the turn of the 20th century, there was much debate on whether oil is of inorganic origin-from metal carbides and subterranean waters-or whether it is of biological origin. Valdens showed that oil exhibits a kind of optical activity characteristic only of natural products. The researcher also made a series of specific discoveries in chemistry (the 'Walden Inversion') and is the founder of two new scientific fields-dynamic stereochemistry and the electrochemistry of nonaqueous solutions. Valdens was several times nominated for the Nobel Prize, but unfortunately, award of the prize was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War.
The invention of three-dimensional holography and Juris Upatnieks (1936)
Juris Upatnieks is among the pioneers of holography: using laser technology, he was able to develop a method for achieving a quality three-dimensional holographic image. In the years 1960-1965, Riga-born Upatnieks, together with Emmett Leith, developed and experimentally demonstrated an entirely novel method in physical optics for recording holograms, which avoided the problem of two images in the method earlier developed by physicist Dennis Gabor. It was a sensational invention, which attracted a great deal of attention: a three-dimensional image that cannot be distinguished from the real object. At the present day, this discovery is used by the military for optical weapons sights, and in military and civil aviation. On 23 March 1999, the Senate of the Latvian Academy of Sciences awarded Juris Upatnieks the Grand Medal of the academy for establishing the basic principles of optical holography and developing its worldwide applications.
Inventor of modern iron-casting technology Jānis Robiņš (1925)
At the present day, about 90% of the world's modern iron foundries use technology created by Latvian chemist Jānis Robiņš. The technology that Robiņš developed in the second half of the 1960s has greatly rationalised metal casting, improved quality, reduced energy costs and made the process very fast. Based on the catalytic reaction of phenol-formaldehyde polymers and isocyanate polymers in the presence of a tertiary amine, Robiņš developed the first practical 'coldbox' and the rapid hardening 'no-bake' process, used by the great majority of iron foundries across the world. The process has also been adapted for casting aluminium and other non-ferrous metals. In 1968, Germany's Daimler-Benz foundry in Mannheim was the first to run the process for automotive parts. John Deere foundry was the first to use the process for mass-production in North America.
The world's best-known orchid researcher Ernests Foldāts (1925-2003)
Latvian biology professor Ernests Foldāts, born in Liepāja in western Latvia, is regarded as the world's foremost orchid specialist. An immense field for research opened up for Foldāts in South America, which has a great diversity of wild orchids. In the years of his life and work in Venezuela, he brought together and systematised an exceptionally voluminous body of information on orchids and described around 70 previously unknown species. In 1998, the Academy of Sciences of Venezuela elected Foldāts the country's leading biologist.
Author of novel economic theories and approaches Kārlis Balodis (1864-1931)
The Latvian Kārlis Balodis (known abroad as Carl Ballod) was an economist of world renown in the 20th century. From the turn of the century, Balodis, as Professor of Economics at the University of Berlin, was engaged in the study of the financial systems of the countries of Europe. Balodis became known throughout the world in the years of the First World War, when he saved from chaos the German economy. He developed a system previously unknown in the world: the 'ration card' scheme of food rationing. This arrangement allowed Germany to survive the economic blockade of the war years and the shortage of raw materials and food it caused, guaranteeing every resident of the country a minimum of necessary foodstuffs. The Latvian economist remained popular after the First World War, when he continued to publish many books with innovative ideas and theories on future industrial and agrarian development in the countries of the world, exerting a strong influence on world economic thinking. Thus, after the First World War, he published a work in several volumes entitled "The Future State". The book dealt at length with the great economic significance of "state capitalism", a particularly important aspect of economic policy in the Western world during the 20th century.
World-famous criminologist Pēteris Lejiņš (1909-2002)
The Latvian professor Pēteris Lejiņš is regarded as one of the world's leading figures in criminology. For 40 years, Lejiņš worked as professor at the University of Maryland in the USA, and for a long time he was the leading figure in international and comparative criminology, serving as Scientific Director of the International Society of Criminology. Lejiņš also led the American Correctional Association, whose mission is to improve the country's justice system.
Medicines invented in Latvia
Several dozens of drugs widely used in the world, without which modern-day medicine would be unimaginable, have been developed in Latvia. Since the 1950s, these inventions of world significance in the field of pharmaceuticals have been made at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis in Riga. The best known among Latvian medicines are Remantadīns (Remantadinum, Rimantadine, Meradan), a powerful antiviral, anti-flu and anti-encephalitis drug developed in the early 1970s by Jānis Polis (1938), and Mildronāts (Mildronatum, Mildronate), developed in the 1970s by a team led by Ivars Kalviņš (1947) and used for treating cardiovascular disease, diseases of the central nervous system and bronchial asthma, as well as for increasing energy in healthy people subject to physical or mental over-exertion and during convalescence. Also worthy of mention is the cancer drug and antileucosis medicine widely used in the world today, developed by a group of Latvian scientists led by Solomons Hillers (1915-1975) in 1964 and known as Ftorafur. This product, also known under the names Tegafuri and Tegafur, is produced by more than 30 pharmaceutical companies in Japan, the United States and other countries, and by the Grindex company in Latvia, which has been producing and exporting it for over 25 years.
Riga Black Balsam and its creator Abraham Kunze (18th Century)
Latvia has long been known abroad for Riga Black Balsam, which has become a sort of national 'brand name' and a favourite souvenir. The unusual dark, strong, quite thick drink resembling a liqueur has long been regarded as possessing various medicinal properties. The history of Riga Black Balsam stretches right back to the 18th century. Regarded as the originator of the recipe is Abraham Kunze, who lived in Riga in the middle of the 18th century. Kunze developed his balsam from the medicinal recipes of 16th and 17th century Riga apothecaries. The exact recipe is still a carefully-guarded secret, but it is known to consist of 25 ingredients, including berry juices and various plant, herb and root essences. As it changed and developed, the balsam obtained already in 1860 its first medal at a trade exhibition in St Petersburg. 'Riga Black Balsam' is nowadays made by only one company, Latvijas balzams, and has received several international awards.
© Text: Raimonds Cerūzis © The Latvian Institute, 2004
This fact sheet can be freely printed from homepage of the Latvian Institute, distributed and cited, on condition that the Latvian Institute is acknowledged as the source. The Latvian Institute promotes knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces publications, in several languages, on many aspects of Latvia.
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