Rüdiger von der Goltz

Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz was a German army general during the First World War. He commanded the Baltic Sea Division, which successfully intervened in the Finnish Civil War in the spring of 1918. Goltz stayed with his troops in Finland until December 1918 representing German interests, and in practice ruled the country as a military dictator during this period. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Goltz commanded the army of the local German-established government of Latvia, which in 1919 was instrumental in the defeat of the Russian Bolsheviks and their local allies in Latvia. The troops commanded by Goltz suffered a defeat against Estonia in 1919 and were eventually unsuccessful in retaining German control over Latvia and Estonia after World War I.

8 December 1865

Born on the same birth date (8 December 1865): Jacques Hadamard • Jean Sibelius

Born on the same birth day (8 December): Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria • Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson • Bob Greene (fitness) • Bob Love • Camille Claudel • Drew Doughty • Friedrich Traugott Kützing • Greg Howe • Indrek Allmann • Jacques Hadamard • James Tate (writer) • Janari Jõesaar • John Qualen • Kotono Mitsuishi • Nikos Karageorgiou • Paul Ladmirault • Reed Johnson • Ryan Newman (racing driver) • Władysław Kozakiewicz

Born in the same month (December 1865): Charles Sands • Edith Cavell • Evangeline Booth • Félix Vallotton • Jacques Hadamard • James M. Canty • Olavo Bilac • Rudyard Kipling • Szymon Askenazy