List of Famous people who died in 1939

Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman (1861–1939), was an American economist who spent his entire academic career at Columbia University in New York City. Seligman is best remembered for his pioneering work involving taxation and public finance. His principles for a progressive federal income tax were adopted by Congress after the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. A prolific scholar and teacher, his students had great influence on the fiscal architecture of postcolonial nations. He served as an influential founding member of the American Economics Association.

Sayajirao Gaekwad III was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat.

Henry, Duke of Parma and Piacenza was the head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and the pretender to the defunct throne of Parma from 1907 to 1939.

Patrick Balfour, 2nd Baron Kinross KC was a Scottish peer and advocate.

Floyd Marion Roberts was a Championship Car racing driver from Jamestown, North Dakota. He won the 1938 Indianapolis 500 with a then-record speed of 117.2 mph (188.6 km/h). He led for 92 laps. The following year, 1939, driving the same car, he was killed in a crash on the backstretch after hitting a wooden fence at 100 mph (160 km/h). Roberts was the first defending champion of the race to have been killed in competition. According to reports, Roberts intended to retire following the race.

Jules-Félix Coutan was a French sculptor and educator.

Gwendolen Mary John was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although she was overshadowed during her lifetime by her brother Augustus John and her lover Auguste Rodin, her reputation has grown steadily since her death.