Famous People Who Died In 1939

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1939. This list includes people like Sigmund Freud, Amelia Earhart, James Naismith, Havelock Ellis, Norman Bethune and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, journalists, poets and playwrights who died in 1939. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, Russia & Austria and many more countries.
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 1 
Amelia Earhart
(The First Female Aviator to Fly Solo Across the Atlantic Ocean)
Amelia Earhart
71
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 24, 1897
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Atchison, Kansas, United States
Died: January 5
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 2 
Sigmund Freud
(Neurologist & the Founder of Psychoanalysis)
Sigmund Freud
49
Birthdate: May 6, 1856
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Příbor, Czechia
Died: September 23
 3 
W B Yeats
(One of the Greatest English-Language Poets of the 20th Century and 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature Winner)
W B Yeats
21
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 13, 1865
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Sandymount, Ireland
Died: January 28
 4 
James Naismith
(The Inventor of the Game of 'Basketball')
James Naismith
8
Birthdate: November 6, 1861
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Almonte, Mississippi Mills, Canada
Died: November 28
 5 
Howard Carter
(Archaeologist)
Howard Carter
18
Birthdate: May 9, 1874
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kensington, London, England
Died: March 2
 6 
Ma Rainey
(Street artist, Musician)
Ma Rainey
24
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: April 26, 1886
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Columbus, Georgia, United States
Died: December 22
 7 
Douglas Fairbanks
(Actor)
Douglas Fairbanks
9
Birthdate: May 23, 1883
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, United States
Died: December 12
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 8 
Alphonse Mucha
(Painter)
Alphonse Mucha
2
Birthdate: July 24, 1860
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ivancice, Czechia
Died: July 14
 9 
Charles M. Schwab
(American Steel Magnate & Businessman)
Charles M. Schwab
24
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: February 18, 1862
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: October 18
 10 
Zane Grey
(Novelist)
Zane Grey
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 31, 1872
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Zanesville, Ohio, USA
Died: October 23
 11 
Norman Bethune
(Physician)
Norman Bethune
8
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: March 4, 1890
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Gravenhurst, Canada
Died: November 12
 12 
Harvey Cushing
(American Neurosurgeon, Pathologist, Writer and the First Person to Describe Cushing’s Disease)
Harvey Cushing
3
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: April 8, 1869
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Died: October 7
 13 
Anthony Fokker
(Aviation Entrepreneur & Aircraft Designer Who Pproduced Fighter Aircraft in Germany During WW I)
Anthony Fokker
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: April 6, 1890
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Blitar, Indonesia
Died: December 23
 14 
Carl Laemmle
(Filmmaker)
Carl Laemmle
3
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: January 17, 1867
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Laupheim, Germany
Died: September 24
 15 
Chick Webb
(Musician)
Chick Webb
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: February 10, 1905
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: June 16
Height: 4'1" (124 cm)
 16 
Hans Langsdorff
(Soldier)
Hans Langsdorff
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: March 20, 1894
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bergen auf Rügen
Died: December 19
 17 
Ford Madox Ford
(British Writer Known for His Novels: 'The Good Soldier', 'Parade’s End' Tetralogy and 'The Fifth Queen' Trilogy)
Ford Madox Ford
2
Birthdate: December 17, 1873
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Merton, Surrey, England
Died: June 26
 18 
Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya
(Deputy Minister of Education in the Government of the Soviet Union 1929 – 1938)
Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya
3
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 26, 1869
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: February 27
 19 
William James Mayo
(Physician and Surgeon)
William James Mayo
3
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: June 29, 1861
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Le Sueur
Died: July 28
 20 
Charles Horace Mayo
0
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: July 19, 1865
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Rochester
Died: May 26
 21 
Otto Rank
(Psychologist)
Otto Rank
1
Birthdate: April 22, 1884
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vienna
Died: October 31
 22 
Eugen Bleuler
(Psychiatrist, Physician, University teacher)
Eugen Bleuler
1
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: April 30, 1857
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Zollikon
Died: July 15
 23 
Arthur Rackham
(Former Illustrator best-known works include the illustrations for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm)
Arthur Rackham
1
Birthdate: September 19, 1867
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Vauxhall, London, England, United Kingdom
Died: September 6
 24 
Alice Brady
(Actress)
Alice Brady
0
Birthdate: November 2, 1892
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: October 28
 25 
Charles R. Walgreen
(American Businessman and Founder of 'Walgreens')
Charles R. Walgreen
1
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: October 9, 1873
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Dixon, Illinois, United States
Died: December 11
 26 
Joseph Force Crater
(Lawyer, Judge)
Joseph Force Crater
1
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: January 5, 1889
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Easton
Died: June 6
 27 
Richard Halliburton
(Author)
Richard Halliburton
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 9, 1900
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Brownsville, Tennessee, United States
Died: March 24
 28 
Lois Weber
(Actress)
Lois Weber
0
Birthdate: June 13, 1879
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: November 13
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 29 
Philipp Scheidemann
(Politician)
Philipp Scheidemann
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: July 26, 1865
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Kassel
Died: November 29
 30 
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
(Writer & Painter Active Before World War I & During Interwar Period)
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
0
Listed In: Photographers
Birthdate: February 24, 1885
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Died: September 18
 31 
Polaire
(Singer)
Polaire
1
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: May 14, 1874
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Algiers, Algiers, Algeria
Died: October 11
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 32 
Armand Călinescu
(39th Prime Minister of Romania Who was Assassinated by ‘Iron Guard’ Members with ‘Nazi’ Support)
Armand Călinescu
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 4, 1893
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Piteşti, Romania
Died: September 21
 33 
Benjamin Tucker
(Journalist, Philosopher, Economist, Translator, Anarchist)
Benjamin Tucker
2
Birthdate: April 17, 1854
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dartmouth
Died: June 22
 34 
Ernst Toller
(German Author, Playwright, Left-Wing Politician and Revolutionary Known for His Expressionist Plays)
Ernst Toller
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 1, 1893
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Szamocin, Poland
Died: May 22
 35 
Pope Pius XI
4
Birthdate: May 31, 1857
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Desio, Italy
Died: February 10
 36 
John R. Lynch
(politician, lawyer)
John R. Lynch
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: September 10, 1847
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Died: November 2
 37 
Pierce Butler
(Jurist)
Pierce Butler
1
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: March 17, 1866
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Dakota County, Minnesota, United States
Died: November 16
 38 
Ambroise Vollard
(Art Dealer)
Ambroise Vollard
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 3, 1866
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saint-Denis, Réunion
Died: July 22
 39 
Kyōka Izumi
(Japanese Author of Novels, Short Stories, and Kabuki Plays Who Was Active During the Prewar Period)
Kyōka Izumi
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 4, 1873
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Died: September 7
 40 
Gwen John
(Painter, Visual artist, Model)
Gwen John
2
Birthdate: June 22, 1876
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Haverfordwest
Died: September 18
 41 
Zinaida Yusupova
(Lady in waiting)
Zinaida Yusupova
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: September 2, 1861
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: November 24
 42 
Sidney Howard
(Playwright)
Sidney Howard
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 26, 1891
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: August 23
 43 
Heywood Campbell Broun
(Journalist)
Heywood Campbell Broun
0
Birthdate: December 7, 1888
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: December 18
 44 
Kelly Miller
(American mathematician)
Kelly Miller
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: July 18, 1863
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Winnsboro, South Carolina, United States
Died: December 29
 45 
Margaret Floy Washburn
(Psychologist)
Margaret Floy Washburn
1
Birthdate: July 25, 1871
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City
Died: October 29
 46 
Fay Templeton
(Singer and actress)
Fay Templeton
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 25, 1865
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Died: October 3
 47 
Marthe de Florian
(Socialite)
Marthe de Florian
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: September 9, 1864
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: August 29
 48 
Owen Moore
(Film actor)
Owen Moore
0
Birthdate: December 12, 1884
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland
Died: June 9
 49 
Johann Strauss III
(Composer)
Johann Strauss III
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: February 16, 1866
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: January 9
 50 
Yevgeny Miller
(Politician, Military officer)
Yevgeny Miller
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: September 25, 1867
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Daugavpils, Latvia
Died: May 11