October 9, 1939

1939Nicholas Grimshaw, English architect and academic (died 2025)^[†]

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw was an English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project in Cornwall. He was president of the Royal Academy from 2004 to 2011. He was chairman of Grimshaw Architects from its foundation to 2019, when he was succeeded by Andrew Whalley. He was a recipient of the RIBA Gold Medal.

1939John Pilger, Australian-English journalist, director, and producer (died 2023)^[†]

John Richard Pilger was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar and documentary filmmaker. From 1962, he was based mainly in Britain. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in New York.

1939Stephen Sedley, English lawyer and judge^[†]

Sir Stephen John Sedley is a British lawyer. He worked as a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales from 1999 to 2011 and was a visiting professor at the University of Oxford from 2011 to 2015.

1939O. V. Wright, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 1980)^[†]

Overton Vertis Wright was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists. His best known songs include "That's How Strong My Love Is" (1964), "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (1965), "Nucleus of Soul" (1968), "A Nickel and a Nail" (1971), "I Can't Take It" (1971) and "Ace of Spades" (1971).