* 1939 – 1945, the Second Battle of the Atlantic.

Subsequent formalizations were framed as attempts to define " effective calculability " or " effective method "; those formalizations included the Gödel – Herbrand – Kleene recursive functions of 1930, 1934 and 1935, Alonzo Church's lambda calculus of 1936, Emil Post's " Formulation 1 " of 1936, and Alan Turing's Turing machines of 1936 – 7 and 1939.

* 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch aviation engineer ( d. 1939 )

* 1939 – André Ouellet, French-Canadian politician

* 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician ( d. 1939 )

* 1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English writer

* 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league footballer

* 1939 – The 1939-40 New York World's Fair opens.

* 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N. Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address.

* 1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.

* 1939 – William Least Heat-Moon, American author

* 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer ( Gladys Knight & the Pips ) ( d. 2005 )

* 1939 – Bulle Ogier, French actress

* 1939 – Romano Prodi, Italian politician and statesman

* 1939 – Hércules Brito Ruas, Brazilian footballer

* 1939 – Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.

* 1939 – Benjamin Barber, American theorist

* 1939 – Wes Craven, American director

* 1939 – John W. Snow, American politician, 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury

* 1984 – Marvin Gaye, American singer ( The Moonglows ) ( b. 1939 )

* 2001 – Trinh Cong Son, Vietnamese composer ( b. 1939 )

Eastern European theorists include Pyotr Stolypin ( 1862 – 1911 ) and Alexander Chayanov ( 1888 – 1939 ) in Russia ; Adolph Wagner ( 1835 – 1917 ), and Karl Oldenberg in Germany, and Bolesław Limanowski ( 1835 – 1935 ) in Poland.

* 2009 – Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician ( b. 1939 )

* 1939 – Bill Toomey, American athlete

Timely's first publication, Marvel Comics # 1 ( cover dated Oct. 1939 ), included the first appearance of Carl Burgos ' android superhero the Human Torch, and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett's anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner, among other features.

* 1939 – Bill Snyder, American football coach

* 56 Bill Hewitt, TE-DE, 1936 – 1939 and 1943

* Children ( 8 ): Gwendolyn Gail ( 1935 – 1976 ), Sue ( 1937 – 1978 ), Bill ( 1939 – 1962 ), Cathy Ann ( 1943 – 1947 ), Arlo Davy ( 1947 –), Joady Ben ( 1948 –), Nora ( 1950 –), Lorinna Lynn ( 1954 – 1973 )

As 1939 wound down, Bill Paley announced that 1940 would " be the greatest year in the history of radio in the United States.

He also spoke in support of the Slum Clearances Bill, which provided entitlement for full compensation for those who purchased a house after August 1939 and still occupied it in December 1955 if this property would be compulsorarily purchased by the government if it was deemed unfit for human habitation.

Exactly when the word bluegrass itself was adopted to label this form is not certain, but is believed to be in the late 1950s, and was derived from the name of the seminal Blue Grass Boys band, formed in 1939 with Bill Monroe as its leader.

When the company began producing comic books in autumn 1939, Beck was assigned to draw a character created by writer Bill Parker called " Captain Thunder ".

In July, 1939, just two issues after the characters ' debut by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, Fox wrote the first of his several tales of the Batman, introducing an early villain in " The Batman Meets Doctor Death ".

* Bill Smith ( basketball ) ( born 1939 ), retired NBA basketball player

Roy Buchanan was born September 23, 1939, in Ozark, the third of four children of Bill Buchanan and the former Minnie Bell Reed. Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture entry on Roy Buchanan.

A 1939 interview " Occupational and Social Life of Granite " recorded by William " Bill " Haight as part of the Federal Writers ' Project, described the town and surroundings of Granite.

" Swing the Mood " began with Glenn Miller's famous " In the Mood " ( a recording from 1939 ), followed immediately by rhythmic re-editing of Bill Haley and His Comets ' " Rock Around the Clock ", Little Richard's " Tutti Frutti " and the Everly Brothers ' " Wake Up, Little Susie ".

In 1939, after a series of unsuccessful recordings for Victor Records and Decca Records, The Ink Spots had their first smash hit on Decca Records with " If I Didn't Care ", a song written by Jack Lawrence, that featured Bill Kenny.

Three Hollywood movies have been made of Foster's life: Harmony Lane ( 1935 ) with Douglass Montgomery, Swanee River ( 1939 ) with Don Ameche, and I Dream of Jeanie ( 1952 ), with Bill Shirley.

Sullavan would have a baby every other year-Brooke in 1937, Bridget in 1939 and Bill in 1941.

* Bill Bridges ( basketball ) ( b. 1939 ), professional basketball player

He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward.

* Bill Graham ( Canadian politician ) ( born 1939 ), Canadian politician, former Leader of the Opposition and former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

" In 1939, Wisden reflected on Bill O ' Reilly's successful 1938 Ashes tour of England: " He is emphatically one of the greatest bowlers of all time.

The Speleological Society of the District of Columbia ( SSDC ) was formed on May 6, 1939 by Bill Stephenson.

* Bill Cooper ( American football ) ( born 1939 ), professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers