List of Famous people who born in 1939

Svend Åge Madsen is a Danish novelist. He studied mathematics before he began writing fiction. His novels are generally philosophical and humorous. Several of his works have been made into films in Denmark. His writings are extensive and has been translated into many languages.

George Robert Carruthers was an African American inventor, physicist, engineer and space scientist. Carruthers perfected a compact and very powerful ultraviolet camera/spectrograph for NASA to use when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972. He designed it so astronauts could use it on the lunar surface, making all adjustments inside their bulky space suits. Upon instructions from Carruthers, they used the camera to record the Earth's outermost atmosphere, noting its variations, and also mapped portions of the far-ultraviolet sky recording stars and galaxies, and the gaseous media between them. In 1970, sending his instruments aboard Aerobee sounding rockets, he had demonstrated that molecular hydrogen exists in the interstellar medium. Among numerous citations and awards, in 2003, Carruthers was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame. He received an honorary doctorate for Engineering from Michigan Technological University, and in 2013 the 2012 National Medal for Technology and Invention from President Barack Obama.

John W. Hutchinson is the Abbott and James Lawrence Research Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He works in the field of solid mechanics concerned with a broad range of problems in structures and engineering materials. A brief history of his education and professional experience follows.

George Joseph Folsey Jr. is an American film producer, editor, assistant director and cinematographer who frequently worked with director John Landis in the 1980s. Folsey was acquitted in a manslaughter case brought over the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two others in a helicopter accident on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Folsey is the son of George J. Folsey and father of editor Ryan Folsey.

Michael Newbold Castle is an American attorney and politician who was governor of Delaware (1985–92) and the U.S. Representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district (1993–2011). He is a member of the Republican Party.

Giorgio Lattanzi is an Italian judge. He was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy from 9 December 2010 to 9 December 2019 and President from 8 March 2018 until the end of his mandate.

Mariotto Segni is an Italian politician and professor of civil law. He founded several parties, which focused on fighting for electoral reform through referendums. He is the son of the politician Antonio Segni, one time President of the Republic of Italy.

Janusz Gajos is a Polish film, television and theatre actor as well as pedagogue and photographer. Professor of Theatre Arts and an Honorary Doctor of the National Film School in Łódź, he is considered one of the greatest Polish actors.