Famous People Who Died At 39

A leader in the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century, Martin Luther King Jr. is best remembered for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience. A man of Christian faith who was inspired by Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent activism, he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting racial inequality.  

An African-American leader of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X was a vocal spokesman of the Nation of Islam and called upon the blacks to protect themselves from the white, even if it meant adopting violence. His radical views and preaching later evolved and he accepted the possibility of peaceful resolution of racial issues in America.

The last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the last true pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra is described as an extremely beautiful woman who was also intelligent and educated with command over numerous languages. Her romance and military alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have inspired numerous art works.

Anna Nicole Smith was one of those Playboy Playmates whose personal lives gained more attention than their professional achievements. She made headlines at the age of 27 when she married the 89-year old J. Howard Marshall. Despite denying media speculation that she married him for his money, she was involved in a legal battle over his property after Howard's death. She died of drug overdose at the age of 39.

Argentine Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara, was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution. A physician by profession, he developed radical views upon witnessing the injustices in the world and joined Fidel Castro’s revolutionary 26th of July Movement. Assassinated in 1967, he remains both a revered and reviled historical figure.

Romantic Era virtuoso pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin, nicknamed The Poet of the Piano, is remembered as the inventor of the instrumental ballade. The legendary composer mostly created solo piano masterpieces but also experimented with piano concertos and chamber pieces. He was influenced by Bach, Mozart, and Polish folk music.

Blaise Pascal was a French physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and inventor. A child prodigy, Pascal's work on projective geometry, at the age of 16 is commendable. He is one of the earliest inventors of the mechanical calculator, which he did when he was still a teenager. His work on probability theory influenced the development of social science and modern economics.

Stonewall Jackson was a commander of the Confederate States Army. He played a major role as a Confederate general in the American Civil War, winning several significant battles in the Eastern Theater of the war. Considered one of the most tactically sound commanders in the history of the US, Jackson was idolized by George Patton, Chesty Puller, and Alexander Vandegrift.

Dylan Thomas was a Welsh writer and poet who published popular poems, such as Do not go gentle into that good night, which was popularized in the 2014 movie, Interstellar, where Michael Caine's character recites the poem throughout the film. Dylan Thomas achieved tremendous popularity during his lifetime and remains popular after his untimely death at the age of 39.

Professional racer, TV personality and metal fabricator, Jessi Combs, is remembered for setting a women's land speed class record (four wheels) in 2013. She was known as "the fastest woman on four wheels.” As a TV presenter, she co-hosted over 90 episodes of the Spike TV show, Xtreme 4x4. She died in a car crash while racing in 2019. 

Welsh actor, Andy Whitfield, gained international fame for his leading role in the Starz television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. A qualified engineer, he quit his corporate job to act in TV shows. He became popular within a few years and began acting in films as well. Tragically, he became ill with cancer and died at the age of 39. 

Colin McRae was a British rally driver who won the British Rally Championship title in 1991 and 1992. In 1995, he became the youngest person and the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. Colin McRae's career was cut short by his sudden demise in 2007 when he was killed in a helicopter crash. 

Once a matinee idol in Mexico, Pedro Infante is remembered for his blockbuster hits such as Nosotros los pobres and Los tres García. He loved flying planes, using the pseudonym Captain Cruz and eventually died in a plane crash. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Bear for his performance in Tizoc.

Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician best remembered for his contributions to number theory, analysis, and differential geometry. His paper on the prime-counting function, which was published in 1859, is considered one of the most influential papers in the history of analytic number theory. Riemann is widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians ever.

Best known for her title role in the film Teresa, Pier Angeli had stepped into showbiz at the tender age of 16. The Golden Globe-winning actor also appeared in films such as Flame and the Flesh and The Silver Chalice. She died of a barbiturate overdose at 39.

Baji Rao I was a peshwa, or chief minister, of the Maratha empire in India. His conquests led a massive blow to the Mughal Empire. In spite of being married to Kashibai, he took a second wife, half-Muslim Mastani, a story that was retold in several movies later.

Tom Thomson was a Canadian artist best remembered for producing some of Canada's most iconic works, namely The West Wind and The Jack Pine. Thomson's work has had a profound influence on Canadian art and he is often regarded as an unofficial member of the famous Group of Seven as he died shortly before the establishment of the iconic group.

Brenda Fassie was a South African dancer, singer, songwriter, and activist. Renowned for her bold on-stage antics, Fassie earned the nickname Madonna of The Townships. Also dubbed the Queen of African Pop, Brenda Fassie won five South African Music Awards and three Kora Awards during her illustrious career. She was also named in the Top 100 Great South Africans list.

Klaus Nomi was a German countertenor with a wide vocal range. He wore heavy makeup, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo. He had an otherworldly stage persona that was unique to him. His music was also considered unusual. He suffered from AIDS and was one of the earliest musicians known to die of the illness.  

Louis VIII of France, or The Lion, ruled France as its king for a little over 3 years. After being invited by the rebellious barons who went against King John of England, Louis invaded England and even gained control of much of it but was later defeated at sea.

Scottish sailor William McMaster Murdoch was the First Officer on the RMS Titanic. The officer in charge on the bridge when the ship collided with an iceberg, he was one of the more than 1,500 casualties when the ship sank. He died under mysterious circumstances, and it is rumored that he died by suicide shortly after the collision. 

Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf was an American entertainer who achieved popularity by appearing on The Howard Stern Show as part of the show's Wack Pack. He gained national attention in 1998 when he won an online poll conducted by People magazine to determine the Most Beautiful People as part of the run-up promotion for People's 50 Most Beautiful People issue.

Son of Alexander III, the emperor of Russia, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich refused to accept the throne unless Russians were allowed to decide if they wanted the monarchy or a republic. Both Michael and his British secretary, Nicholas Johnson, were arrested and shot to death during the Russian Revolution.

Considered the national poet of Romania, Mihai Eminescu was a major figure of Romanticism in Romanian literature. Starting as an editor for the paper Timpul, he later penned iconic poems such as Luceafărul, or The Evening Star, and stories such as Sărmanul Dionis and Cezara. He, unfortunately, died in a mental asylum.

Babak Khorramdin was an Iranian revolutionary leader of the Iranian Khorram-Dinān, a local freedom movement fighting the Abbasid Caliphate. The rebellion spearheaded by Babak spread to the western and central parts of Iran and lasted for two decades before it was suppressed.  Babak was betrayed by one of his own men and put to death by the Abbasid Caliph.   

Evangelista Torricelli, a student of Galileo, later made a name for himself as a physicist and a mathematician with his invention of the barometer. He also laid down the Torricelli’s theorem and discovered the Torricellian vacuum. The torr, a unit of pressure, bears his name.

George Herbert was an orator, poet, and priest of the Church of England. Although he is regarded as one of the most important British devotional lyricists, Herbert's poetry is often associated with the works of popular metaphysical poets. He was also a collector of proverbs and his collection was published in 1640.

Apart from being the president of Mexico, Francisco I. Madero was also a social reformist. Born into an affluent landowning family, Madero grew up to challenge the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz and was one of the initiators of the Mexican Revolution. He was assassinated in a right-wing coup.