Väinö Linna
Väinö Linna (1920-1992), a Finnish author most famous for his novels Tuntematon Sotilas (1954, trans. The Unknown Soldier) and Täällä Pohjantähden Alla (1959-1963, trans. Here Beneath the North Star).Väinö Linna was born in Urjala, western Finland, near the city of Tampere. His parents were Viktor (Vihtori) Linna (1874-1927) and Johanna Maria (Maija) Linna (1888-1972).
Linna's social realism has had a profound influence in Finnish social, political and cultural life. Both of his major works are filmed, The Unknown Soldier twice.
