List of Famous people who died in 1940

David Franklin Houston was an American academic, businessman and conservative Democratic politician. He served under President Wilson as the 5th Secretary of Agriculture and the 48th United States Secretary of the Treasury.

Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric was a Belgian Symbolist painter. His earliest paintings joined Christian mysticism with pantheistic themes, while his later works increasingly reflected social concerns. Much of his work also shows the influence of fifteenth and sixteenth century Flemish art and Renaissance painting styles.

Arthur Wellin was a German film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He directed 18 films between 1916 and 1927. He also appeared in 11 films between 1915 and 1933. He was born in Berlin, Germany.

Camilla Jellinek was an Austrian women's rights activist and lawyer. A large number of the women seeking advice of those days worked as waitresses, which was considered disreputable at the time, and was often seen in the "twilight" of prostitution. This was the occasion for Jellinek to deal intensively with the problem of those women, so in her articles, she tried to draw the public's attention to the poor working conditions and the exploitation of women working as waitresses and with the help of a fundraising and a municipal grant, she finally founded a women's home for waitresses in 1907.

Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Balbo was described as the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, often seen as one of his most probable successors.

Ernst Pfuhl was a German-Swiss classical archaeologist and art historian. He was the son of sculptor Johannes Pfuhl (1846-1914) and a son-in-law to art dealer Athanasios Rhousopoulos (1823-1898).

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to 1907.

Charles Nagel was a United States politician and lawyer from St. Louis, Missouri. He was Secretary of Commerce and Labor during President William Howard Taft's administration (1909–1913) and was one of the key founders of the United States Chamber of Commerce.