September 13, 1939

1939Arleen Auger, American soprano and educator (died 1993)^[†]

Joyce Arleen Auger was an American coloratura soprano, known for her interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Mozart, and Schubert. She won a posthumous Grammy Award for "Best Classical Vocal Performance" in 1994.

1939Richard Kiel, American actor and voice artist (died 2014)^[†]

Richard Dawson Kiel was an American actor. Standing 7 feet 1.5 inches (2.17 m) tall and often referred to as "the Gentle Giant", he was notable for portraying Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996). Other notable films include The Longest Yard (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Cannonball Run II (1984), Pale Rider (1985) and Tangled (2010). On television, he portrayed the giant alien in the highly regarded 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man".

1939Guntis Ulmanis, Latvian economist and politician, 5th President of Latvia^[†]

Guntis Ulmanis is a Latvian politician and the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999.

1939Joel-Peter Witkin, American photographer^[†]

Joel-Peter Witkin is an American photographer who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work often deals with themes such as death, corpses, often featuring ornately decorated photographic models, including people with dwarfism, transgender and intersex persons, as well as people living with a range of physical features. Witkin is often praised for presenting these figures in poses which celebrate and honor their physiques in an elevated, artistic manner. Witkin's complex tableaux vivants often recall religious episodes or classical paintings.