Skaidrīte Dariusa

Skaidrīte Darius (1927-2024) was a Latvian folk dancer and computer scientist. She founded the Latvian folk dance group, Sprigulītis. Darius also received an honorary doctorate from the Australian National University and had one of their building's named after her for her contributions to computer science.

Early life Darius was born on November 6, 1927, to Arnold and Olga Skriver in Balvi. She went to primary school in Aizpurve and secondary school in Balvi. She briefly lived in England but moved to Canberra in 1950. Darius got a degree in humanities from the Australian National University in 1960.

Darius had a mathematics job at the Australian National University, which was typically reserved for men. She was given the job due to her high achievement the math exam all of the applicants were given. Darius raised her daughter alone after the death of her husband.

The Australian National University named their computer science building after Darius on February 27, 2025, with the opening ceremony being attended by Latvian ambassador to Australia, Marģers Krams. Darius was awarded the Order of the Cross of Recognition V class in 2012. Darius died in Canberra on April 21, 2024.