List of people from Vilnius

The following is a list of notable people from Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius (historically known by the names of Vilna/Wilna/Wilno). It includes both the people born there and people born elsewhere but otherwise connected to it.

A

• Neringa Aidietytė (b. 1983), athlete^[1]
• Frantsishak Alyakhnovich (1883–1944), Belarusian playwright and journalist
• Algirdas (1296–1377), Grand Duke of Lithuania
• Ana Ambrazienė (b. 1955), hurdler, former world record holder^[2]
• Michał Elwiro Andriolli (1836–1893), Polish-Lithuanian painter and architect of Italian descent
• Irena Andriukaitienė (b. 1948), politician and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
• Mark Antokolsky (1843–1902), Russian-Jewish sculptor
• Laura Asadauskaitė (b. 1984), modern pentathlon athlete^[3]

B

• Francišak Bahuševič (1840–1900), Belarusian poet
• Živilė Balčiūnaitė (b. 1979), long-distance runner, European champion
• Aidas Bareikis (b. 1967), artist^[4]
• Liutauras Barila (b. 1974), Olympic biathlete^[5]
• Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927), leader of Lithuania's national revival movement
• Ričardas Berankis (b. 1990), the top ranked Lithuanian tennis player of all time^[6]
• Alexander Berkman (1870–1936), leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century
• Mykolas Biržiška (1882–1962), historian of literature, politician, signer of the Act of Independence of Lithuania
• Vaclovas Biržiška (1884–1956), publisher, historian
• Eglė Bogdanienė (b. 1962), textile artist
• Kazys Bradūnas (1917–2009), poet
• Algirdas Brazauskas (1932–2010), Lithuanian President and Prime Minister
• Danutė Budreikaitė (b. 1953), politician and Member of the European Parliament
• Teodor Bujnicki (1907–1944), Polish poet

C

• Saint Casimir (1458–1484), patron saint of Poland and Lithuania
• Dalius Čekuolis (b. 1959), politician
• Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1560–1621), politician and hetman
• Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist; his mother Masha Cohen and maternal grandfather Rabbi Solomon Klinitsky-Klein were from the area of Wilno
• César Cui (1835–1918), Russian composer and music critic of French, Polish and Lithuanian descent
• Yitzhak Zuckerman (1915–1981), one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

D

• Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė (b. 1963), actress
• Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864), historian
• Mikalojus Daukša (1527–1613), publisher of the first printed Lithuanian book in GDL
• Gintaras Didžiokas (b. 1966), politician
• Ignacy Domeyko (1802–1889), geologist and engineer
• Raminta Dvariškytė (b. 1990), Olympic swimmer^[7]
• Felix Dzerzhinsky (1877–1926), founder of the Soviet secret police
• Audrius Dzikaras (b. 1957), painter

G

• Romain Gary (1914–1980), French writer
• Martynas Gecevičius (b. 1988), basketball player
• Gediminas (c. 1275–1341), Grand Duke of Lithuania, founder of Vilnius city
• Petras Geniušas (b. 1961), classical pianist
• Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994), archeologist
• Rolandas Gimbutis (b. 1981), swimmer^[8]
• Liudas Gira (1884–1946), poet, writer, and literary critic
• Johann Christoph Glaubitz (c. 1700–1767), architect
• Kęstutis Glaveckas (b. 1949), politician and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
• Antoni Gorecki (1787–1861), writer, poet, soldier
• Albertas Goštautas (c. 1480–1539), Chancellor of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Mindaugas Griškonis (b. 1986), Olympic rower^[9]
• Hubertas Grušnys (1961–2006), media proprietor, in 1989 launched the first-ever private radio station in Lithuania and the post-communist Eastern Europe
• Dalia Grybauskaitė (b. 1956), President of Lithuania
• Laurynas Gucevičius (1753–1798), architect
• Daina Gudzinevičiūtė (b. 1965), shooter, Olympic gold medalist^[10]

H

• Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987), violinist

I

• Juozas Imbrasas (b. 1941), former mayor of Vilnius
• Jurga Ivanauskaitė (1961–2007), writer

J

• Edgaras Jankauskas (b. 1975), first Lithuanian footballer to win the UEFA Champions League in 2004
• Gintaras Januševičius (b. 1985), pianist
• Simas Jasaitis (b. 1982), basketball player
• Rolandas Jasevičius (b. 1982), boxer
• Paweł Jasienica (1909–1970), Polish historian, journalist and soldier
• Jakub Jasiński (1761–1794), Polish general
• Jogaila (c. 1352/1362–1434), Grand Duke of Lithuania
• Arvydas Juozaitis (b. 1956), swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist^[11]
• Eglė Jurgaitytė (b. 1998), singer

K

• Virgilijus Kačinskas (b. 1959), architect, politician and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
• Lina Kačiušytė (b. 1963), swimmer, Olympic gold medalist^[12]
• Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835–1907), Polish Discalced Carmelite friar inside the Russian partition of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; teacher, engineer, prisoner of war, royal tutor and priest
• Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876–1909), Polish composer and conductor
• Rimantas Kaukėnas (b. 1977), basketball player
• Antanas Kavaliauskas (b. 1984), professional basketball player, 2005 FIBA Under-21 World Championship gold medalist
• Valdas Kazlauskas (b. 1958), athlete and coach
• Vytautas Kernagis (1951–2008), singer-songwriter, considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry
• Rebeka Kim (b. 1998), South Korean figure skater
• Gediminas Kirkilas (b. 1951), former Prime Minister of Lithuania
• Szymon Konarski (1808–1839), Polish radical democratic politician and revolutionary
• Oskaras Koršunovas (b. 1969), theatre director
• Simon Kovar (born Kovarski) (1890–1970), bassoonist
• Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), Polish Roman Catholic nun and mystic
• Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887), Polish writer, historian, journalist, scholar, painter and author
• Andrius Kubilius (b. 1956), Prime Minister of Lithuania
• Jonas Kubilius (1921–2011), mathematician who works in probability theory and number theory
• Abraomas Kulvietis (c. 1509–1545), reformer, publicist
• Jolanta Kvašytė (b. 1956 Vilnius), ceramic artist

L

• Vytautas Landsbergis (b. 1932), politician, contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union
• Joachim Lelewel (1786–1861), Polish historian
• Romas Lileikis (b. 1959), poet, musician, film director
• Michalo Lituanus, publicist, humanist of the 16th century
• Eduard Lobau (b. 1988), Belarusian activist with the nation's democracy movement
• Józef Łukaszewicz (1863–1928), Polish physicist, geologist and mineralogist
• Meilė Lukšienė (1913–2009), cultural historian and activist

M

• Józef Mackiewicz (1902–1985), Polish writer
• Andrius Mamontovas (b. 1967), singer
• Gritė Maruškevičiūtė (b. 1989), Miss Lithuania 2010^[13]
• Raimundas Mažuolis (b. 1972), swimmer, olympic medalist
• Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855), Polish poet
• Jeronimas Milius (b. 1984), singer^[14]
• Czesław Miłosz (1911–2004), Polish poet, Nobel prize in Literature
• Lazar Minor (1855–1942), Russian neurologist
• Vytautas Miškinis (b. 1954), music composer and professor
• Gediminas Motuza (b. 1946), geologist and author of geology textbooks

N

• Onutė Narbutaitė (b. 1956), composer
• Ludwik Narbutt (1832–1863), military commander
• Teodor Narbutt (1784–1864), historian
• Eimuntas Nekrošius (b. 1952), theatre director
• Henryk Niewodniczański (1900–1968), physicist

O

• Nijolė Oželytė-Vaitiekūnienė (b. 1954), actress and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania

P

• Bohdan Paczyński (1940–2007), astronomer
• Rolandas Paksas (b. 1956), former Lithuanian president and mayor of Vilnius
• Jerzy Passendorfer (1923–2003), Polish film director
• Artūras Paulauskas (b. 1953), former speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas
• Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935), politician, military commander and Polish head of state
• Emilia Plater (1806–1831), Polish revolutionary and female military commander
• Kazimierz Plater (1915–2004), Polish chess master
• Martynas Pocius (b. 1986), professional basketball player, member of the Lithuanian national basketball team, 2010 FIBA World Championship bronze medalist
• Karol Podczaszyński (1790–1860), Polish architect
• Romualdas Požerskis (b. 1951), photographer

R

• Antoni Radziwiłł (1775–1833), Polish and Prussian noble, aristocrat, musician and politician
• Barbara Radziwiłł (Barbora Radvilaitė) (1520–1551), Queen of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Michał Pius Römer (1880–1945), rector of Vytautas Magnus University, lawyer
• Michał Józef Römer (1778–1853), writer and politician
• Audrius Rudys (b. 1951), economist, politician and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
• Ferdynand Ruszczyc (1870–1936), painter

S

• Lew Sapieha (1557–1633), politician and military commander
• Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (1595–1640), poet
• Šarūnas Sauka (b. 1958), postmodern painter
• Andrew Schally (b. 1926), US endocrinologist, Nobel Prize winner
• Lasar Segall (1891–1957), Brazilian Jewish painter, engraver and sculptor
• Kazimierz Siemienowicz (ca 1600 – ca 1651), military commander, engineer, theorist of artillery and pioneer of rocketry
• Konstantinas Sirvydas (1579–1631), lexicographer, writer
• Piotr Skarga (1536–1612), theologian, writer and the first rector of the Wilno Academy
• Francysk Skaryna (ca. 1490–1552), publisher, regarded as a publisher of first printed Ruthenian (sometimes credited as Old Belarusian) Bible
• Boris Skossyreff (1896–1989), King of Andorra
• Mykolas Sleževičius (1882–1939), lawyer, Prime Minister of Lithuania
• Juliusz Słowacki (1809–1849), Polish poet
• Antanas Smetona (1874–1944), publicist, President of Lithuanian Republic
• Elijah ben Solomon, Gaon mi Vilna (1720–1797), Jewish scholar and Kabbalist
• Jędrzej Śniadecki (1768–1838), chemist, biologist and philosopher
• Audrius Stonys (b. 1966), renowned documentary filmmaker
• Vytautas Straižys (b. 1936), astronomer, developer of Vilnius photometric system
• Władysław Syrokomla (1823–1862), Polish poet, writer and translator
• Deividas Šemberas (b. 1978), football player
• Algirdas Šemeta (b. 1962), economist and the European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud
• Stasys Šilingas (1885–1962), lawyer and statesman, a significant figure in the history of Lithuania's independence
• Tadas Šuškevičius (b. 1985), athlete

T

• Emanuel Tanay (1928–2014), Holocaust survivor and American forensic psychiatrist
• Aurimas Taurantas (b. 1956), politician and signature of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
• Yemima Tchernovitz-Avidar (1909–1998), Israeli author
• Eustachy Tyszkiewicz (1814–1873), historian

V

• Alis Vidūnas (1934–2009), former mayor of Vilnius
• Jonas Vileišis (1872–1942), politician, lawyer
• Petras Vileišis (1851–1926), millionaire, mecenate, politician, publisher
• Zygmunt Vogel (1764–1826), Polish painter
• Giedrė Voverienė (b. 1968), orienteering competitor
• Vytautas the Great (1344–1430), Grand Duke of Lithuania

W

• Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952), Zionist politician and the first president of Israel
• Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński (1806–1885), archaeologist
• Antoni Wiwulski (1877–1919), sculptor and architect
• Tadeusz Wróblewski (1858–1925), lawyer, collector

Z

• Ludwik Zamenhof (1859–1917), philologist, creator of Esperanto
• Tomasz Zan (1796–1855), poet
• Artūras Zuokas (born 1968), mayor of Vilnius city municipality (2000–2007 and 2011–2015), Lithuanian politician
• Robertas Žulpa (born 1960), swimmer, Olympic champion

References