List of Famous people who died in 1939

Vladimir Alekseyevich Shchuko was a Russian architect, member of the Saint Petersburg school of Russian neoclassical revival notable for his giant order apartment buildings "rejecting all trace of the moderne". After the Russian Revolution of 1917 Shchuko gradually embraced modernist ideas, developing his own version of modernized neoclassicism together with his partner Vladimir Gelfreikh. Shchuko and Gelfreikh succeeded through the prewar period of Stalinist architecture with high-profile projects like the Lenin Library, Moscow Metro stations and co-authored the unrealized Palace of Soviets. Shchuko was also a prolific stage designer, author of 43 drama and opera stage sets.

Lady Laura Elizabeth Ridding born Laura Elizabeth Palmer was a British biographer, suffragist and philanthropist.

Marie Bernays was a German politician, educator, writer and women's rights activist. She co-founded the Mannheim Women's Social School and served in the Landtag of the Republic of Baden from 1921 until 1925 as a member of the Deutsche Volkspartei.

Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States.

Frans Van Dijk was a Belgian architect. He was an important representative of eclecticism in architecture.