List of Famous people who died in 1959

James Joy Mohan Nichols Roy was a Christian minister and politician from what is now the state of Meghalaya, India. Before the independence of India he agitated for autonomy of the tribal peoples of northeast India. After independence this was enshrined in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India through his efforts.

Joan Coma (1877-1959) was president of FC Barcelona from 1931 to 1934.

Otto Bartning was a Modernist German architect, architectural theorist and teacher. In his early career he developed plans with Walter Gropius for the establishment of the Bauhaus. He was a member of Der Ring. In 1951 he was elected president of the Federation of German Architects.

John Matthai CIE (1886-1959) was an economist who served as India's first Railway Minister and subsequently as India's Finance Minister, taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1948. Matthai was born into an marthoma family and graduated in economics from the University of Madras. He served as a Professor and Head in University of Madras from 1922 to 1925. He presented two Budgets as India's Finance Minister, but resigned following the 1950 Budget in protest against the increasing power of the Planning Commission and P. C. Mahalanobis. He was the first Chairman of the State Bank of India when it was set up in 1955. He was the founding President of the Governing Body of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi, India's first independent economic policy institute established in 1956. He served as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai from 1955 till 1957 and then as the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Kerala from 1957 to 1959. His nephew, Verghese Kurien, is generally recognized as the architect of India's White Revolution. Dr. John Matthai Centre, Thrissur, located on the large plot of land donated by his family, is named in his honour. His wife, Achamma Matthai was an Indian social worker and a women's rights activist. The Government of India honoured her in 1954 with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, for her contributions to the society,

Joseph Maunsell Hone was an Irish writer, literary historian, critic and biographer of W. B. Yeats. He was one of the notable group of writers associated with the literary and theatre movement in Ireland in the early 20th century.

Oskar Vogt was a German physician and neurologist. He and his wife Cécile Vogt-Mugnier are known for their extensive cytoarchetectonic studies on the brain.

Werner Johannes Krauss was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film Jud Süß and his collaboration with the Nazis made him a controversial figure.

William Vincent Astor was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family.

Kala Venkata Rao was an Indian independence activist and politician. He served as the Minister for Revenue in the governments of the Madras Presidency and Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the Minister of Finance in the latter.