The National Library of Latvia, in Riga, is the country's main library and the national repository of its printed output. It was founded in the year after Latvia declared its independence, as the State Library, and gathered the books of the new state during turbulent years. Under Soviet occupation it was known as the Library of the Latvian SSR. After Latvia regained independence in 1991, it took its present name and its status as a legal-deposit institution. In 2014 it moved into a new glass building by the architect Gunnar Birkerts, called the Castle of Light, on the bank of the Daugava river.
Before and after
- 23 May 1919Founding of University of California, Los Angeles
- from 5 June 1919 to 23 June 1919Battle of Cēsis
- 28 June 1919Treaty of Versailles
- 20 July 1919Birth of Edmund Hillary
- 29 August 1919National Library of Latvia
- 10 September 1919Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- 18 October 1919Birth of Pierre Trudeau
- 22 October 1919Birth of Doris Lessing
- 26 October 1919Birth of Mohammad Reza I of Iran
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916Gallipoli Campaign
- 4 June 1917Pulitzer Prize
- 24 July 1923Treaty of Lausanne
- 30 September 1938Munich agreement
- from 7 December 1941 to 2 September 1945Pacific War
- from 6 June 1944 to 29 August 1944Normandy landings
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.