1939

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1900s  1910s  1920s  – 1930s –  1940s  1950s  1960s
Years:	1936 1937 1938 – 1939 – 1940 1941 1942

1939 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1939 MCMXXXIX
Ab urbe condita	2692
Armenian calendar	1388 ԹՎ ՌՅՁԸ
Assyrian calendar	6689
Bahá'í calendar	95–96
Balinese saka calendar	1860–1861
Bengali calendar	1346
Berber calendar	2889
British Regnal year	3 Geo. 6 – 4 Geo. 6
Buddhist calendar	2483
Burmese calendar	1301
Byzantine calendar	7447–7448
Chinese calendar	戊寅年 (Earth Tiger) 4635 or 4575     — to — 己卯年 (Earth Rabbit) 4636 or 4576
Coptic calendar	1655–1656
Discordian calendar	3105
Ethiopian calendar	1931–1932
Hebrew calendar	5699–5700
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1995–1996
- Shaka Samvat	1860–1861
- Kali Yuga	5039–5040
Holocene calendar	11939
Igbo calendar	939–940
Iranian calendar	1317–1318
Islamic calendar	1357–1358
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 14 (昭和１４年)
Javanese calendar	1869–1870
Juche calendar	28
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4272
Minguo calendar	ROC 28 民國28年
Nanakshahi calendar	471
Thai solar calendar	2481–2482
Tibetan calendar	阳土虎年 (male Earth-Tiger) 2065 or 1684 or 912     — to — 阴土兔年 (female Earth-Rabbit) 2066 or 1685 or 913

1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday in the Gregorian calendar. World War II started in this year.

Events

• May 15 – Nazi Germany opens Ravensbruück concentration camp, the largest Nazi concentration camp for women
• September 1 – The Second World War begins when Nazi Germany invades Poland
• September 17 – The Soviet Union invades Poland
• October 6 – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divide and take over Poland
• November 30 – The Winter War begins

Births

• February 6 – Mike Farrell
• February 14 – John Conn (Scottish-Australian writer)
• March 13 - Neil Sedaka, American singer-songwriter and musician (The Tokens)
• April 2 – Marvin Gaye
• July 1 - Karen Black (d. 2013)
• July 30 - Peter Bogdanovich
• August 3 – Wes Craven
• August 19 - Ginger Baker, English drummer (Cream) (d. 2019)
• September 5 – George Lazenby
• September 18 – Frankie Avalon
• October 27 – John Cleese
• November 13 – Will Ryan (American actor)

Deaths

• September - Khan Sahib Abdul Majid Khan Tarin, OBE, British Indian judge and legislator (b. 1877)
• November 12 -Norman Bethune

Movies released

• Dodge City starring Errol Flynn
• Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Best Picture Academy Award)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Charles Laughton
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
• Stagecoach starring John Wayne
• The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland

New books

• Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

Hit songs

• "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" – by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, from the movieThe Wizard of Oz; won the Academy Award for the best song.
• "If I Didn't Care - by The Ink Spots