Günther Klaus Fielmann (17 September 1939 – 3 January 2024) was a German billionaire businessman, the founder, majority owner and the chief executive officer of Fielmann, a German optics company focusing on retail eyewear. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$4.6 billion. From 2019, the management of Fielmann Group, was handed over completely to his son Marc Fielmann.
Thomas Eugen Gompf (born March 17, 1939, in Dayton, Ohio) is an American former diver. He represented the United States at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he received a bronze medal in men's 10 metre platform.Gompf's memoir, "A Life Aloft" was published by CG Sports Publishing in November 2021.
Norman Michael Hershberger (October 9, 1939 – July 1, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1961–1964, 1971), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1965–1969) and Milwaukee Brewers (1970) during an 11-season Major League Baseball career. Born in Massillon, Ohio, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
He signed with the White Sox in 1959 after graduating from Massillon High School and attending the University of Cincinnati. He held down a starting corner outfielder job in the majors for seven straight years (1962–1968), and in 1966 led the American League in sacrifice flies (7) during his tenure with the Athletics.
In his 11 MLB seasons, Hershberger played in 1,150 games and had 3,572 at bats, 398 runs, 900 hits, 150 doubles, 22 triples, 26 home runs, 344 runs batted in, 74 stolen bases, 319 walks, .252 batting average, .316 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage, 1,172 total bases, 33 sacrifice hits, 28 sacrifice flies and 19 intentional walks.
He died in Massillon on July 1, 2012, following a brief illness.
André Rossinot (born 22 May 1939) is a French politician. He is a medical doctor specialist in Otolaryngology. He is a member of the Radical Party.
Rosanna Schiaffino (25 November 1939 – 17 October 2009) was an Italian film actress. She appeared on the covers of Italian, German, French, British and American magazines.
Michael Anthony Foster (July 2, 1939 – November 14, 2020) was an American science fiction writer from Greensboro, North Carolina. He spent over sixteen years as a Captain and Russian linguist in the United States Air Force.
Michel Siffre (born 3 January 1939) is a French underground explorer, adventurer and scientist. He was born in Nice, where he spent his childhood.
He received a postgraduate degree at the Sorbonne six months after completing his baccalauréat. He founded the French Institute of Speleology (Institut français de spéléologie) in 1962 (not to be confused with the French Federation of Speleology).
Inspired by the space race, he explored how humans experience time by spending two months cloistered in the abyss of Scarasson (Punta Marguareis) without time cues on a glacier, from July 1962. He then organized several similar underground experiments for other speleologists. In 1972, Siffre went back underground for a six-month stay in a cave in Texas. He found that without time cues, several people including himself adjusted to a 48-hour rather than a 24-hour cycle. The notes of his experiments were used by NASA. Several astronauts reported experiences similar to those experienced in underground experiments such as loss of short-term memory to being isolated from external time references.
Rick Lenz (born November 21, 1939, Springfield, Illinois) is an American actor, author and playwright. Lenz is known for his performances in the films Cactus Flower (1969), The Shootist (1976), and Melvin and Howard (1980).
Don Fullmer (February 21, 1939 – January 28, 2012) was an American professional boxer and a brother of the former world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer. Eight years younger than his more famous brother, Don followed Gene into the gym in West Jordan, Utah, to learn how to box. He fought as an amateur for four years and did not lose in sixty-five fights. Another brother, Jay, was also active in boxing.
Donald R. Kojis (January 15, 1939 – November 19, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA)..