January 21, 1939

1939Paul Genevay, French sprinter (died 2022)^[†]

Paul Louis Marcel Genevay was a French sprinter. He competed in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m events at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the relay in 1964. He failed to reach the final in three other competitions. Genevay won two gold and one silver medals in the sprint at the 1959 Mediterranean Games. He died on 11 March 2022, at the age of 83.

1939Friedel Lutz, German footballer (died 2023)^[†]

Alfred "Friedel" Lutz was a German professional footballer who played as a full-back. He spent most of his career with Eintracht Frankfurt. At international level, he made 12 appearances for the West Germany national team.

1939Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer (died 2024)^[†]

Steven Douglas Paxton was an American experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown. He was a founding member of the experimental group Grand Union and in 1972 named and began to develop the dance form known as Contact Improvisation, a form of dance that utilizes the physical laws of friction, momentum, gravity, and inertia to explore the relationship between dancers.

1939Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (died 2005)^[†]

Viacheslav Platonov was a Russian volleyball player and coach. He led the Soviet men's national volleyball team to gold medals at the 1978 FIVB World Championship in Italy, 1982 FIVB World Championship in Argentina, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.