List of Famous people who died in 1939

Polina Denisovna Osipenko was a Soviet military pilot, most notable as the co-pilot who, together with Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova on September 24–25, 1938 performed a non-stop flight between Moscow and the Sea of Okhotsk, setting a new distance record for non-stop flights operated by women. For this achievement, she and her two colleagues were named Hero of the Soviet Union, the first three women to receive highest military distinction in Soviet Union on 2 November 1938.

Helene Kröller-Müller was one of the first European women to put together a major art collection. She is credited with being one of the first collectors to recognise the genius of Vincent van Gogh. She donated her entire collection to the Dutch people, along with her and her husband, Anton Kröller's, large forested country estate. Today it is the Kröller-Müller Museum and sculpture garden and Hoge Veluwe National Park, the largest national park in the Netherlands.

Sir Montagu Harry Proctor-Beauchamp, 7th Baronet was a British Anglican Christian missionary.

Adolf Henrik Lindstrøm was a Norwegian chef and polar explorer.

Ambroise Vollard was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotional support to numerous then-unknown artists, including Paul Cézanne, Aristide Maillol, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Louis Valtat, Pablo Picasso, André Derain, Georges Rouault, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. He was also an avid art collector and publisher.

Florence Lois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is identified in some historical references as "the most important female director the American film industry has known", and among "the most important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian Anthony Slide has also asserted, "Along with D. W. Griffith, Weber was the American cinema's first genuine auteur, a filmmaker involved in all aspects of production and one who utilized the motion picture to put across her own ideas and philosophies".

Grace Abbott was an American social worker who specifically worked in improving the rights of immigrants and advancing child welfare, especially the regulation of child labor. Her elder sister, Edith Abbott, who was a social worker, educator and researcher, had professional interests that often complemented those of Grace's.

Leo Wiener (1862–1939) was an American historian, linguist, author and translator.

Alexei (Alexey) Alekhine (1888–1939) was a Russian chess master and the brother of World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine.

Syvert Nicolaas Bastert, was a 19th-century Dutch landscape painter, best known for his scenes along the river Vecht. He is counted among the "second generation" of the Hague School.