List of Famous people who born in 1939

Richard Alfred Tapia is an American mathematician and champion of under-represented minorities in the sciences. In recognition of his broad contributions, in 2005, Tapia was named "University Professor" at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the University's highest academic title. The honor has been bestowed on only six professors in Rice's one-hundred-five-year history. On September 28, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Tapia was among twelve scientists to be awarded the National Medal of Science, the top award the United States offers its researchers. Tapia is currently the Maxfield and Oshman Professor of Engineering; Associate Director of Graduate Studies, Office of Research and Graduate Studies; and Director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education at Rice University.

Cees Lute is a Dutch cyclist.

Nicholas Gage is a Greek-born American author and investigative journalist.

Neil Wallace is an American economist and professor at Pennsylvania State University. Wallace is considered one of the main proponents of new classical macroeconomics.

Maxwell Richard Bennett is an Australian neuroscientist specializing in the function of synapses.

Martin Pfaff is a German economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who was a member of the Bundestag from 1990 to 2002.

Marlan Orvil Scully is an American physicist best known for his work in theoretical quantum optics. He is a professor at Texas A&M University and Princeton University. Additionally, in 2012 he developed a lab at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative in Waco, Texas.