List of Famous people who died in 1949

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff was a Russian philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, and composer of Armenian and Greek descent, born in Alexandropol, Russian Empire. Gurdjieff taught that most humans do not possess a unified consciousness and thus live their lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep", but that it is possible to awaken to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. Gurdjieff described a method attempting to do so, calling the discipline "The Work" or "the System". According to his principles and instructions, Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness unites the methods of the fakir, monk and yogi, and thus he referred to it as the "Fourth Way".

Clara Jane Bryant Ford was the wife of Henry Ford. She was an active suffragist and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

Michael James O'Doherty was the 27th Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines.

Giovanni Zenatello was an Italian opera singer. Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. Otello became his most famous operatic role but he sang a wide repertoire. In 1904, he created the part of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.

Aaltje Noordewier–Reddingius was a noted Dutch classical soprano who had an active performance career in the concert repertoire from 1888 through the 1930s. She was also a celebrated voice teacher.

Frank Albert Fetter was an American economist of the Austrian School. Fetter's treatise, The Principles of Economics, contributed to an increased American interest in the Austrian School, including the theories of Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek.

Douglas Ross Hyde, known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn, was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a leading figure in the Gaelic revival, and the first President of the Gaelic League, one of the most influential cultural organisations in Ireland at the time.

Nikolay Fyodorovich Gamaleya or Mykola Hamaliia was a Russian Empire and Soviet physician of Ukrainian origin and scientist who played a pioneering role in microbiology and vaccine research.