1967 re-release poster
In the year 1939, the Hewlett-Packard Company is founded (Jan 1), Hitler´s speech before the Reichstag forebodes the holocaust (Jan 30), Batman makes his first appearance in a comic book (May 2), the last public guillotining in France takes place (Jun 17), Siam changes its name to Thailand (Jun 24), the last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed by the Nazis (Jul 6), Nazi Germany invades Poland, beginning World War II in Europe (Sep 1), Soviet forces attack Finland, starting the Winter War (Nov 30), Gone with the Wind premieres in an Atlanta theater (Dec 15) - and all these fine people were born:
1939-xxxx Bror Bäckström* barber/ entrepreneur - Finland (2023/84)
1939-xxxx Pekka Niska* entrepreneur/founder of Pekkaniska Oy - Rautio, Finland (2021/81)
1939-xxxx Maria Petri* schoolteacher/ lifelong Arsenal supporter - London, England (2022/82)
1939-0101
1939-0103 Bobby Hull* hockey player (NHL 100) - Pointe Anne, ON Canada (2023/84)
1939-0105 Kari Juva* sculptor/painter/illustrator - Helsinki, Finland (2014/75)
1939-0106 Georgios Babiniotis* linguist/ philologist/politician - Athens, Greece ****
1939-0106 Valeriy Lobanovskyi* football player/manager - Kiev, Ukraine, Soviet Union (2002/63)
1939-0107
1939-0110 David Horowitz* conservative writer/activist - Queens, NY USA (2025/86)
1939-0110 Sal Mineo* actor - The Bronx, NY USA (1976/37)
1939-0115 Per Ahlmark* politician - Stockholm, Sweden (2018/79)
1939-0117 Maury Povich* television host of The Maury Povich Show & Maury /married to Connie Chung - Washington, D.C. USA ****
1939-0120 Mochamad Hasbi* Indonesian army officer/politician - Tapaktuan, Aceh, Dutch East Indies (2022/83)
1939-0126 Scott Glenn* actor - Pittsburgh, PA USA (dob uncertain)
1939-0129 Polly Platt* film producer/ production designer - Fort Sheridan, IL USA (2011/72)
1939-0131
1939-0201
1939-0202 Karl-Åke Asph* cross-country skier/OG - Avesta, Sweden ****
1939-0202 Sirkka Turkka* poet - Helsinki, Finland (2021/82)
1939-0203
1939-0206 Mike Farrell* actor (M*A*S*H) - Saint Paul, MN USA ****
1939-0206 Molly Neptune Parker* basket weaver/of Passamaquoddy tribe - Indian Township, ME USA (2020/81)
1939-0215 Ole Ellefsæter* cross-country skier/OG (Vasaloppet) - Furnes, Hedmark, Norway (2022/83)
1939-0215 Robert Hansen* serial killer - Estherville, IA USA (2014/75)
1939-0219 Gwen Taylor* actress (Heartbeat) - Derby, England ****
1939-0220 Herbert Kohler Jr.* billionaire businessman - Chicago, IL USA (2022/83)
1939-0221 Börje Ahlstedt* actor - Stockholm, Sweden ****
1939-0227 Peter Alexander* artist - Los Angeles, CA USA (2020/81)
1939-0227 Kenzo Takada* 高田 賢三 Japanese-French fashion designer/ founder of Kenzo - Himeji, Hyogo, Japan (2020/81)
1939-0301
1939-0302 Irina Bogacheva* opera singer - Leningrad, Russia, Soviet Union (2019/80)
1939-0306 Adam Osborne* British-American computer designer/software publisher/ author - Bangkok, Thailand (2003/64)
1939-0308 Peter Nicholls* literary scholar/critic - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (2018/78)
1939-0308 Lynn Seymour* (b Springbett) ballet dancer - Wainwright, AB Canada (2023/83)
1939-0309 Benjamin Zander* pianist/conductor - Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England ****
1939-0310
1939-0313 Neil Sedaka* singer/pianist/composer - Brooklyn, NY USA ****
1939-0316 Risto Aaltonen* actor/theater director - Helsinki, Finland (2021/81)
1939-0319 Étienne Pinte* French politician/mayor of Versailles - Ixelles, Belgium ****
1939-0319 Peter Thorburn* rugby player/coach - Auckland, New Zealand (2021/81)
1939-0320
1939-0324 Lynda Baron* actress/ comedian/singer - Urmston, Lancashire, Englana (2022/82)
1939-0325 D. C. Fontana* television script writer/story editor (Star Trek) - Sussex, NJ USA (2019/80)
1939-0329 Terence Hill* (b Mario Girotti) actor/ screenwriter/director - Venice, Kingdom of Italy ****
1939-0330 Herb Roedel* Am. football player/engineer - Appleton, WI USA (2022/83)
1939-0331
1939-0401 Ali MacGraw* actress - Pound Ridge, NY USA ****
1939-0402 Marvin Gaye* singer-songwriter/ record producer - Washington D.C. USA (1984/44)
1939-0402 Caroline Breese Hall* pediatrician - Brighton, NY USA (2012/73)
1939-0402 Pertti Paasio* politician - Helsinki, Finland (2020/81)
1939-0404 Hugh Masekela* jazz musician/ composer - Witbank, South Africa (2018/78)
1939-0407 Francis Ford Coppola* film director - Detroit, MI USA ***
1939-0407 Kjell Kaspersen* football goalie/ex-husband of Lill-Babs - Oslo, Norway
1939-0408 Elizabeth Clare Prophet* religious leader - Long Branch, NJ USA (2009/70)
1939-0409 Gernot Roll* cinematographer/film director - Dresden, Germany (2020/81)
1939-0411 Joe Burke* accordionist - Kilnadeema, County Galway, Ireland (2021/81)
1939-0413 Seamus Heaney* poet/playwright/ translator/N - Castledawson, Northern Ireland (2013/74)
1939-0413 Paul Sorvino* actor - New York City, NY USA (2022/83)
1939-0414
1939-0416 Dusty Springfield* singer/producer - West Hampstead, London, England (1999/59)
1939-0419 Seppo Huunonen* film director/ screenwriter/producer - Viipuri, Finland (2023/83)
1939-0420 Marcia Angell* physician/ author/editor - Knoxville, TN USA ****
1939-0420 Gro Harlem Brundtland* politician/PM - Bärum, Norway ****
1939-0420 Wayson Choy* writer - Vancouver, BC Canada (2019/80)
1939-0428 Burkhard Driest* actor/ writer/ director - Stettin, Germany (2020/80)
1939-0430
1939-0501
1939-0504 Paul Gleason* actor - Jersey City, NJ USA (2006/67)
1939-0504 Amos Oz (b Klausner)* Israeli writer/ journalist/ intellectual - Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine (2018/79)
1939-0507 Sidney Altman* molecular biologist/N - Montreal, QC Canada (2022/82)
1939-0508 Sirkka Hämäläinen* (b Hinkkala) economist/ politician - Hausjärvi, Finland ****
1939-0512 Chuck Hull* engineering physicist/inventor of 3D printing - Clifton, CO USA ****
1939-0513 Harvey Keitel* actor - Brooklyn, NY USA ****
1939-0513 Kari Løvaas* opera singer - Skien, Norway (2025/85)
1939-0518 Giovanni Falcone* judge/worked to overthrow the power of the Sicilian Mafia - Palermo, Italy (1992/53)
1939-0519 James Fox* actor - London, England ****
1939-0519 Janis Lusis* athlete (javelin)/OG - Jelgava, Latvia (2020/80)
1939-0525 Ian McKellen* actor - Burnley, Lancashire, England ****
1939-0531 David Kennedy* advertising executive (Just Do It) - Wichita, KS USA (2021/82)
1939-0607 Hans-Christian Ströbele* lawyer/ politician - Halle, Prussia, Nazi Germany (2022/83)
1939-0611 Jackie Stewart* racing driver/WG - Milton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
1939-0616 Ritva Oksanen* singer/actress/stage performer - Vaasa, Finland ****
1939-0621 Kalle Holmberg* theater and television director - Mikkeli, Finland (2016/77)
1939-0622 Ada Yonath* עדה יונת crystallographer/N - Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine ****
1939-0624 Stephen Dunn* poet/educator - Queens, NY USA (2021/82)
1939-0630 Anna-Greta Leijon* politician - Stockholm, Sweden (2024/84)
1939-0701 Karen Black* actress - Park Ridge, IL USA (2013/74)
1939-0702 Barbara Colby* actress/ homicide vicitim - New York City, NY USA (1975/36)
1939-0703 K. K. Usha* first female judge on the high court/feminist - Thrissur, Kerala, British India (2020/81)
1939-0706 Gérard Bourgoin* businessman/sports chairman/ politician - Chailley, Yonne, France (2025/85)
1939-0706 Jet Harris* bass guitarist (Shadows) - Kingsbury, London, England (2011/71)
1939-0706 Chandra Paul Persaud** - Friendship Village, Georgetown, Guyana (2011/72)
1939-0708 Rambahadur Limbu* Nepalese Gurkha/recipient of the Victoria Cross - Chyangthapu, Yangrop Thum, East Kingdom of Nepal (2023/83)
1939-0710
1939-0711 Jürgen Vollmer* photographer (Beatles) - Hamburg, Germany ****
1939-0714 Karel Gott* singer/recording artist - Plzeň, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (2019/80)
1939-0714 Sid Haig* actor/producer/musician - Fresno, CA USA (2019/80)
1939-0715 E Dongchen* 鄂栋臣 earth scientist/polar explorer - Guangfeng, China (2019/79)
1939-0715 Patrick Wayne* actor/son of John Wayne - Los Angeles, CA USA ****
1939-0717 Spencer Davis* multi-instrument musician - Swansea, Wales (2020/81)
1939-0720 Ivan Bootham* British-New Zealand novelist/poet/composer - Farnworth, Lancashire, England (2016/76)
1939-0721
1939-0726 Heloísa Teixeira* writer/ editor/literary critic - Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (2025/85)
1939-0727 Allan Hagert* businessman - Ulvila, Finland (1999/60)
1939-0730 Peter Bogdanovich* film director/actor/film historian - Kingston, NY USA (2022/82)
1939-0731 Susan Flannery* actress - Jersey City, NJ USA ****
1939-0731 Eeva Tikka* writer - Ristiina, Finland ****
1939-0802 Wes Craven* film director - Cleveland, OH USA (2015/76)
1939-0803 Barry Cohen* attorney - USA (2018/79)
1939-0805
1939-0808 Sam Belnavis* executive in automobile racing - Brooklyn, NY USA (2021/81)
1939-0808 David Ray Griffin* political writer/philosopher/founder member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth - Wilbur, WA USA (2022/83)
1939-0808 Arthur Riggs* geneticist - Modesto, CA USA (2022/82)
1939-0810
1939-0812 George Hamilton* actor - Memphis, TN USA ****
1939-0815 Norma Waterson* singer (The Watersons)- Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (2022/82)
1939-0816 Carole Shelley* actress - London, England (2018/79)
1939-0825 John Badham* film director - Luton, Bedfordshire, England ****
1939-0829 Joel Schumacher* film director/ screen writer/ producer - New York, NY USA (2020/80)
1939-0901 Lily Tomlin* actress/writer/producer - Detroit, MI USA ****
1939-0905 Claudette Colvin* pioneer of the Civil Rights Movements - Montgomery, AL USA ****
1939-0905 William Devane* actor - Albany, NY USA ****
1939-0905 George Lazenby* actor - Goulburn, NSW, Australia ****
1939-0906 David Allan Coe* country music singer/descendant of Mayflower passenger Robert Coe - Akron, OH USA ****
1939-0911 Charles Geschke* computer scientist/ businessman/co-founder of Adobe Inc - Cleveland, OH USA (2021/81)
1939-0913 Richard Kiel* actor - Detroit, MI USA (2014/74)
1939-0915
1939-0916 Bettye Crutcher* songwriter - Memphis, TN USA (2022/83)
1939-0917 David Souter* lawyer/ associate justice - Melrose, MA USA (2025/85)
1939-0918
1939-0920 Norma Cappagli* Miss World 1960/model - Buenos Aires, Argentina (2020/81)
1939-0922 Junko Tabei* (b Ishibashi) 田部井 淳子 mountaineer/ author/teacher - Miharu, Empire of Japan (2016/77)
1939-0924 Jacques Vallée* computer scientist/ author/ufologist - Pontoise, Val-d’Oise, France ****
1939-0928 Kurt Luedtke* screenwriter/editor - Grand Rapids, MI USA (2020/80)
1939-0929 Jim Baxter* football player - Hill of Beath, Fife, Scotland (2001/61)
1939-0929 Larry Linville* actor (M*A*S*H) - Ojai, CA USA (2000/60)
1939-0930 Len Cariou* actor/stage director - St. Boniface, MB Canada ****
1939-1001
1939-1007 Clive James* author/ broadcaster/memoirist - Kogarah, NSW Australia (2019/80)
1939-1008 Paul Hogan* actor/comedian - Lightning Ridge, NSW Australia ****
1939-1008 Elvira Ozolina* athlete (javelin/OG)/m to Jānis Lūsis - Leningrad, Russia, Soviet Union ****
1939-1010
1939-1014 Ralph Lauren* fashion designer/philanthropist - The Bronx, NY USA ****
1939-1015 Peter Gotti* mobster/the boss of the Gambino crime family - New York City, NY USA (2021/81)
1939-1018 Lee Harvey Oswald* assassin of JFK - New Orleans, LA USA (1963/24)
1939-1023 Charles R. Morris* lawyer/ banker/author - Oakland, CA USA (2021/82)
1939-1024 F. Murray Abraham* actor/w Syrian and Italian ancestry - Pittsburgh, PA USA ****
1939-1027 John Cleese* actor/comedian - Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset England ****
1939-1031 Ron Rifkin* actor - New York, NY USA ****
1939-1101
1939-1106 Joyce Fairbairn* politician/ senator - Lethbridge, AB Canada (2022/82)
1939-1108 Laila Kinnunen* singer - Vantaa, Finland (2000/60)
1939-1108 Derek Scott* actor - Los Angeles, CA USA (2003/63)
1939-1110 Russell “Wanbli Ohitika " Means* Oglala Lakota activist/actor/ writer - Porcupine, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD USA (2012/72)
1939-1114 Wendy Carlos* musician/composer - Pawtucket, RI USA ****
1939-1114 Albert del Rosario* businessman/ government official/diplomat - Manila, Commonwealth of the Philippines (2023/83)
1939-1115
1939-1118 Margaret Atwood* author (The Handmaid’s Tale)/ inventor/ environmental activist - Ottawa, ON Canada *****
1939-1118 Tom Johnson* composer/music critic - Greeley, CO (2024/85)
1939-1118 Brenda Vaccaro* actress - Brooklyn, NY USA ****
1939-1120
1939-1121 Jeannot Szwarc* television and film director (Somewhere in Time) - Paris, France (2025/85)
1939-1126 Tina Turner* (b Anna Mae Bullock) singer/the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” - Nutbush, TN USA (2023/83)
1939-1129
1939-1130 Hani al-Rahib* novelist/literary academic - Mashqita, First Syrian Republic (2000/60)
1939-1130 Chandra Bahadur Dangi* world’s shortest man - Salyan, Nepal (2015/75)
1939-1203 Lee Israel* author/known for literary forgery- New York, NY USA (2014/75)
1939-1205 Reino Paasilinna* Finnish journalist/politician/writer - aboard Aunus, Arctic Ocean, on the coast of Norway (2022/82)
1939-1206
1939-1208 Jerry Butler* soul singer-songwriter/ producer/politician - Sunflower, MS USA (2025/85)
1939-1208 James Galway* Irish virtuoso flute player - Belfast, Northern Ireland ****
1939-1226 Phil Spector* record producer/ songwriter/murderer - The Bronx, NY USA (2021/81)
1939-1227 John Amos* actor (Roots) - Neward, NJ USA (2024/84)
1939-1228 Bonnie MacLean* artist known especially for her classic rock posters - Philadelphia, PA USA (2020/80)
1939-0
1939-0
1939-0
Updated 2025-0511 Helsinki
Search for another year here