Rainis

Jānis Pliekšāns
Born	(1865-09-11)11 September 1865 "Varslavāni" farm, Dunava parish, Courland Governorate, Russian empire
Died	12 September 1929(1929-09-12) (aged 64) Majori, Latvia
Occupation(s)	Poet Playwright translator politician
Spouse	Aspazija
Awards	Order of the Three Stars, 1st class (1925)

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.