List of Famous people who died in 1940

Guido Seeber was a German cinematographer and pioneer of early cinema.

Gaston-Henri Billotte was a French military officer, remembered chiefly for his central role in the failure of the French Army to defeat the German invasion of France in May 1940. He was killed in a car accident at the height of the battle.

Henri Léon Emile Lavedan, French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of Hubert Lavedan, a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist.

Robert Leffler was a German actor, film director and opera singer (bass).

Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian,, known as Philip Kerr until 1930, was a British politician, diplomat and newspaper editor. He was private secretary to Prime Minister David Lloyd George between 1916 and 1921. After succeeding a cousin in the marquessate in 1930, he held minor office from 1931 to 1932 in the National Government, headed by Ramsay MacDonald.

Felice Nazzaro was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907, and 1913. His European wins in 1907 resulted in an invitation to compete in the 1908 American Grand Prize in Savannah, Georgia, where he finished third. He returned to the United States for the 1910 event but a damaged rear axle forced him out of the race. It was his victory in the 1908 Circuito di Bologna that inspired a young Enzo Ferrari to become a racing driver. He continued racing until 1929 at the age of 48, and Nazzaro died in Turin in 1940 after a long illness at the age of 58.

Jean Verdier, PSS was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1929 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1929.

Marc Camoletti was a Swiss architect.

William Brockman Bankhead was an American politician who served as the 42nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama's 10th and later 7th congressional districts as a Democrat from 1917 to 1940. Bankhead was a strong liberal and a prominent supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal of pro-labor union legislation, thus clashing with most other Southern Democrats in Congress at the time. Bankhead described himself as proud to be a politician, by which he meant that he did not neglect matters that concerned his district or reelection. He was the father of actress Tallulah Bankhead.