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In the year 1939

386 Notable deaths

Max Skladanowsky

German inventor and early filmmaker.

Born April 30th, 1863 in Berlin.

Died November 30th, 1939 at 76 years old in Berlin.

Matvei Berman

Soviet secret service member, head of gulag (1898-1939).

Born April 10th, 1898 in Adrianovka.

Died March 7th, 1939 at 40 years old in Moscow (gunshot wound).

Ottó Bláthy

Hungarian mechanical engineer.

Born August 11th, 1860 in Tata.

Died September 26th, 1939 at 79 years old in Budapest.

Pavel Postyshev

Soviet politician (1887-1939).

Born September 18th, 1887 in Ivanovo.

Died February 26th, 1939 at 51 years old in Moscow.

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin

Russian painter (1878–1939).

Born November 5th, 1878 in Khvalynsk.

Died February 15th, 1939 at 60 years old in Saint Petersburg (tuberculosis).

Edvard Westermarck

Finnish academic (1862–1939).

Born November 20th, 1862 in Helsinki.

Died September 3rd, 1939 at 76 years old in Tenala.

Edmund Beecher Wilson

American zoologist, geneticist (1856-1939).

Born October 19th, 1856 in Geneva.

Died March 3rd, 1939 at 82 years old in New York City.

Lucien Lévy-Bruhl

French philosopher (1857-1939).

Born April 10th, 1857 in Paris.

Died March 13th, 1939 at 81 years old in Paris.

Frederick Carl Frieseke

American impressionist painter (1874-1939).

Born April 7th, 1874 in Owosso.

Died August 24th, 1939 at 65 years old in Le Mesnil-sur-Blangy (aneurysm).

Clémentine Delait

French bearded lady.

Born March 5th, 1865 in Chaumousey.

Died April 19th, 1939 at 74 years old in Épinal.

Claude A. Swanson

American lawyer and politician (1862–1939).

Born March 31st, 1862 in Swansonville.

Died July 7th, 1939 at 77 years old in Rapidan Camp.

Johann Strauss III

Austrian composer (1866–1939).

Born February 16th, 1866 in Vienna.

Died January 9th, 1939 at 72 years old in Berlin.

Kiyohara Tama

Japanese artist (1861-1939).

Born July 17th, 1861 in Edo, Tokyo.

Died April 6th, 1939 at 77 years old in Tokyo.

Grace Abbott

Social worker (1878–1939).

Born November 17th, 1878 in Grand Island.

Died June 19th, 1939 at 60 years old in Chicago (multiple myeloma).

Matthew Nathan

British colonial administrator (1862–1939).

Born January 3rd, 1862 in Paddington.

Died April 18th, 1939 at 77 years old in West Coker.

J. Hamilton Lewis

American politician (1863–1939).

Born May 18th, 1863 in Danville.

Died April 9th, 1939 at 75 years old in Washington, D.C..

Ford Sterling

American comedian (1883–1939).

Born November 3rd, 1882 in La Crosse.

Died October 13th, 1939 at 56 years old in Los Angeles (myocardial infarction).

Aleksei Gastev

Russian trade unionist (1882-1939).

Born October 8th, 1882 in Suzdal.

Died April 15th, 1939 at 56 years old in Kommunarka (gunshot wound).

Bruno Liljefors

Swedish artist (1860–1939).

Born May 14th, 1860 in Uppsala Cathedral Assembly. [ref]

Died December 18th, 1939 at 79 years old in Uppsala Cathedral Assembly. [ref]

Prince Henry, Duke of Parma

Pretender to the throne of parma.

Born June 13th, 1873 in Rorschach.

Died November 16th, 1939 at 66 years old in Lucca.

Tom Ricketts

English-american actor and director (1853–1939).

Born January 15th, 1853 in London.

Died January 20th, 1939 at 86 years old in Hollywood (pneumonia).

James Parrott

American actor and director.

Born August 2nd, 1897 in Baltimore. [ref]

Died May 10th, 1939 at 41 years old in Los Angeles (myocardial infarction). [ref]

Vlas Chubar

Soviet politician (1891-1939).

Born February 22nd, 1891 in Fedorivka. [ref]

Died February 26th, 1939 at 48 years old in Moscow (execution by shooting).

Helene Kröller-Müller

German art collector (1869-1939).

Born February 11th, 1869 in Essen.

Died December 14th, 1939 at 70 years old in Otterlo.

Fyodor Raskolnikov

Soviet diplomat (1892-1939).

Born February 9th, 1892 in Saint Petersburg.

Died September 12th, 1939 at 47 years old in Nice.

Deaths 101 to 125 of 386

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Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold. Ralph Waldo Emerson