Connectivity
Famous people
The names that shaped Armenia, at home and across the diaspora: on stage, on canvas, in the lab and on the podium. Pick a field to narrow the list.
- Composer1869–1935
Komitas
Collected and arranged thousands of folk songs; founder of Armenian classical music.
Music
- Composer1903–1978
Aram Khachaturian
Wrote the ballets Gayane and Spartacus, home of the Sabre Dance.
Music
- Singer-songwriter1924–2018
Charles Aznavour
The voice of French chanson, with more than a thousand songs.
Music · Diaspora
- Duduk player1928–2021
Djivan Gasparyan
Took the duduk to the world, on stage and on film soundtracks.
Music
- Rock bandSince 1994
System of a Down
Grammy-winning band of four Armenian-Americans.
Music · Diaspora
- Musicianb. 1967
Serj Tankian
System of a Down's frontman, composer and activist.
Music · Diaspora
- Jazz pianistb. 1987
Tigran Hamasyan
Blends jazz with Armenian folk and sacred music.
Music
- Filmmaker1924–1990
Sergei Parajanov
Directed The Color of Pomegranates; his museum is in Yerevan.
Film & stage
- Actor1930–1993
Frunzik Mkrtchyan
Armenia's best-loved actor, from Mimino to the Gyumri stage.
Film & stage
- Director1897–1987
Rouben Mamoulian
Hollywood and Broadway director of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Oklahoma!
Film & stage · Diaspora
- Filmmakerb. 1960
Atom Egoyan
Canadian director of The Sweet Hereafter and Ararat.
Film & stage · Diaspora
- Singer and actorb. 1946
Cher
Oscar winner for Moonstruck; her father was Armenian.
Film & stage · Diaspora
- Painter1817–1900
Ivan Aivazovsky
Master of the sea, with some 6,000 marine paintings.
Art & architecture · Diaspora
- Painter1880–1972
Martiros Saryan
Painted Armenia's mountains in blazing colour; his house is a museum.
Art & architecture
- Painterc. 1904–1948
Arshile Gorky
A founding figure of American Abstract Expressionism.
Art & architecture · Diaspora
- Painter1928–1975
Minas Avetisyan
Bold, warm canvases of Armenian village life.
Art & architecture
- Architect1878–1936
Alexander Tamanian
Drew the master plan of modern Yerevan and its Opera House.
Art & architecture
- Poet1869–1923
Hovhannes Tumanyan
The national poet; his tales are read to every Armenian child.
Literature
- Poet1897–1937
Yeghishe Charents
Armenia's great modernist poet, silenced in the purges.
Literature
- Poet1924–1971
Paruyr Sevak
Wrote The Unsilenceable Belfry, a long poem about Komitas.
Literature
- Poet1919–2006
Silva Kaputikyan
Beloved poet whose lines many Armenians know by heart.
Literature
- Writer1908–1981
William Saroyan
American author of The Human Comedy; he turned down a Pulitzer.
Literature · Diaspora
- Astrophysicist1908–1996
Viktor Ambartsumian
Founded the Byurakan Observatory on Mount Aragats.
Science
- Aircraft designer1905–1970
Artem Mikoyan
The “Mi” in MiG, the Soviet fighter jets.
Science
- Mathematician1928–2008
Sergey Mergelyan
Built Armenia's first computers and its computing institute.
Science
- Physician and inventor1936–2022
Raymond Damadian
A pioneer of the MRI scanner.
Science · Diaspora
- Neuroscientistb. 1967
Ardem Patapoutian
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2021, for the sense of touch.
Science · Diaspora
- World champion1929–1984
Tigran Petrosian
World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969.
Chess
- Grandmasterb. 1982
Levon Aronian
Led Armenia to its Chess Olympiad gold medals.
Chess
- Footballb. 1989
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Armenia's record goalscorer and its most famous footballer.
Sport
- Weightlifting1956–2018
Yurik Vardanyan
Olympic champion at Moscow 1980.
Sport
- Wrestlingb. 1991
Artur Aleksanyan
Greco-Roman Olympic champion at Rio 2016.
Sport
- Weightliftingb. 1997
Simon Martirosyan
Olympic silver medallist at Rio 2016.
Sport