List of Famous people who died in 1959

Gertrud Bodenwieser, also known as "Gertrude", was a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher and pioneer of expressive dance.

Jean Gallon was a French composer, choir conductor, and music educator. His compositional output consists of six antiphons for strings and organ, one mass, one ballet, and several art songs.

Gerard Carbonara was an American composer, conductor, opera coach and concert violinist.

Hal McIntyre was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.

Fodil El Ouratilani was an Algerian Muslim Brotherhood member. He is considered a prominent member of the Islamic Movement in Algeria, for he had an important role in founding the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema in 1931, as he was very close to Imam Abdelhamid Ben Badis and Imam Bashir Al-Ibrahimi. He also contributed greatly to the empowerment of the principles of the Association in Algeria and then in France beside Algerian workers there.

Aleksandr Yakovlevich Khinchin was a Soviet mathematician and one of the most significant contributors to the Soviet school of probability theory.

William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II. He is regarded as the founding father of the CIA, and a statue of him stands in the lobby of the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia.