About the day » Wednesday January 4, 1939Calender converter

• Harmen Gerrits Bergsma, Vrouwenparochie, Het Bildt, Friesland, Nederland († 2017)
• Donald William Preston, Prairie du Sac, Sauk, Wisconsin, Verenigde Staten († 1973)
• Hendrik (Henk) van den Hoek, Apeldoorn († 1996)
• Christiaan Hubertus Stienen, Gilze, Gilze en Rijen († 1998)
• Catharina Cornelia van den Beuken, Helden († 2001)
• Benjamin Edgar KEEL († 1949)
• Hendrikus van Biljouw, Vught († 1939)
• Jacobus Cornelis Jozef (Koos) Stokman, Hillegom, Zuid-Holland, Nederland († 1963)
• Henricus Carolus Schepers, Stein, Limburg, Nederland († 1994)
• Alida Cornelia Maria Bernarda de Brabander, Monster, Zuid-Holland, Nederland († 2021)

• Adolf DEWEER (78), Knokke,West-Vlaanderen,Wvl, België
• Bernardus Johannes Petrus Nabbe (84), 's-Hertogenbosch
• Anna-Ludwina MOERMAN (40), Waregem
• Andreas Flach (72), Krimpen aan de IJssel
• Catharina Wilhelmina Brugman (80), Nijmegen
• Christoffel Zwart (97), Koog aan de Zaan
• Aaltje Josina Schriek (90), 's-Gravendeel, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
• Alberta Hendrika ROOS (52), Oud-Beijerland
• alberta hendrika ROOS (52), oud-beijerland
• (84), Sioux Center, Sioux County, IA, United States

• 1935 » Floyd Patterson, American boxer († 2006)
• 1937 » Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1937 » Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
• 1940 » Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1940 » Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1941 » George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter († 2005)
• 1941 » Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician († 1999)
• 1942 » Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
• 1942 » John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1943 » Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author

• 1924 » Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852)
• 1925 » Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (b. 1845)
• 1927 » Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (b. 1870)
• 1931 » Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (b. 1890)
• 1931 » Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
• 1931 » Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian journalist, activist, and scholar (b. 1878)
• 1940 » Flora Finch, English-American actress and producer (b. 1867)
• 1941 » Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
• 1943 » Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (b. 1911)
• 1944 » Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898)

1. Johannes
2. Jan
3. Cornelis
4. Hendrik
5. Willem
6. Pieter
7. Adrianus
8. Petrus
9. Gerrit
10. Robert
11. Jacobus
12. Jacob
13. Gerardus
14. Wilhelmus
15. Antonius
16. Arie

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Anna
4. Cornelia
5. Elisabeth
6. Wilhelmina
7. Hendrika
8. Adriana
9. Catharina
10. Petronella
11. Geertruida
12. Jacoba
13. Margaretha
14. Trijntje
15. Aaltje
16. Mary

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 8.7 million citizens.
• February 10 » Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France.
• May 23 » The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• June 4 » The Holocaust: The MSSt. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
• September 1 » Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people.
• September 14 » World War II: The Estonian military boards the Polish submarine ORPOrzeł in Tallinn, sparking a diplomatic incident that the Soviet Union will later use to justify the annexation of Estonia.
• September 18 » World War II: The radio show Germany Calling begins transmitting Nazi propaganda.

The temperature on January 4, 1939 was between -0.9 °C and 3.8 °C and averaged 1.2 °C. There was 6.7 mm of rain during 7.9 hours. The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south.