Born in 1939

What things cost in 1939

1939 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1939 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1939

United States

Franklin D. Roosevelt (President)

United Kingdom

George VI (King); Neville Chamberlain (Prime minister)

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin (General Secretary); Mikhail Kalinin (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Vyacheslav Molotov (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars)

Republic of China (1916–1949)

H. H. Kung, then Chiang Kai-shek (Premier)

French Third Republic

Albert François Lebrun (President); Édouard Daladier (President of the Council of ministers)

Nazi Germany

Adolf Hitler (Führer); Adolf Hitler (Chancellor)

Empire of Japan

Hirohito (Emperor); Fumimaro Konoe, then Hiranuma Kiichirō, then Nobuyuki Abe (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1901–1950) (revision 1377869146), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1939 →

Famous people born in 1939

• April 19 – Ali Khamenei, cleric and former Supreme Leader of Iran from 1989 to 2026. source
• January 1 – Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Somali entrepreneur, politician and 4th President of Somalia (died 2021) source
• March 20 – Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada (died 2024) source
• November 26 – Tina Turner, American born Swiss singer and actress (died 2023) source
• February 8 – Egon Zimmermann, Austrian Olympic alpine skier (died 2019) source
• April 7 – Francis Ford Coppola, American film director source
• March 12 – Johnny Callison, baseball player (died 2006) source
• January 3 – Gene Summers, American rock 'n' roll singer (member of Rockabilly Hall of Fame) (died 2021) source
• December 29 – Ed Bruce, American country singer and actor (died 2021) source
• February 3 – Michael Cimino, American film director (died 2016) source
• November 18 – Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist source
• 29 September – Jim Baxter, international footballer (died 2001) source
• September 29 – Larry Linville, American actor (M*A*S*H) (died 2000) source
• 15 September – Subramanian Swamy, Indian politician and economist. source
• March 9 – Malcolm Bricklin, automotive pioneer source

What happened in 1939

• January 1 – Philipp Etter takes over as President of the Swiss Confederation. source
• January 23 – "Dutch War Scare": Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr leaks misinformation to the effect that Germany plans to invade the Netherlands in February, with the aim of using Dutch air-fields to launch a strategic bombing offensive against Britain. The "Dutch War Scare" leads to a major change in British policies towards Europe. source
• January 1 – The Protection of Young Persons Act, passed on April 30, 1938, the Working Hours Regulations. source
• January 1 – With his traditional call to the New Year in Nazi Germany, Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler addresses the members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). source
• February 18 – The Golden Gate International Exposition opens in San Francisco. source
• 13 January – The bushfires of Black Friday kill 70 people in Victoria. source
• January 3 – The news agency EFE, based in Madrid, is officially founded as a limited company. source
• January 30 – Hitler gives a speech before the Reichstag calling for an "export battle" to increase German foreign exchange holdings. The same speech also sees "Hitler's prophecy", where he warns that if "Jewish financiers" start a war against Germany, "the result will be the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe". source