List of Famous people who died in 1959

Bohuslav Jan Martinů was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1923 for Paris, Martinů deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. During the 1920s he experimented with modern French stylistic developments, exemplified by his orchestral works Half-time and La Bagarre. He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his Kitchen Revue.

John Foster Dulles was an American diplomat. A Republican, he served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world.

Duke R. Lee was an American actor. He appeared in 99 films between 1913 and 1946. He was born in Virginia and died in Los Angeles, California.

Arturo Labriola was an Italian revolutionary syndicalist and socialist politician and journalist.

Stanley Bate was an English composer and pianist.

Zalman Shneour was a prolific Yiddish and Hebrew poet and writer. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Infanta Maria Antónia of Portugal was the seventh and last child of Miguel of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

Paul Chalfin (1874-1959) was an artist and interior designer with an interest in architecture, best known for his work at Villa Vizcaya. Chalfin was openly gay; his longtime partner was Louis Koons.

Joseph John Annabring was a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Superior, in Superior, Wisconsin.