- Jan 4 Antonio Maria Mazzoni, Italian opera composer, born in Milan, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1785)
- Jan 5 William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman, born in Becket, Massachusetts (d. 1793)
- Jan 28 Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774). Reigned 1757-74.
- Jan 29 Jeffrey Amherst, English army general (commanded British forces in North America) and Royal Governor of Virginia (1759-1768), born in Sevenoaks, England (d. 1797)
- Feb 2 Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
- Feb 10 Pierre de La Garde, French composer, singer, and guitarist, born in Crécy-la-Chapelle, France (d. c. 1792)
- Feb 19 David Garrick, English actor, producer and writer (Aboan-Oroonoko), born in Hereford, England (d. 1779)
- Feb 24 Bernhard Hupfeld, German composer, born in Kassel (d. 1796)
- Feb 26 John Randall, British organist and hymn composer, born in Cambridge, England (d. 1799)
- Mar 26 Manuel Jeronimo Romero de Avila, Spanish theorist and composer, born in Las Herencias, Toledo, Spain (d. 1779)
- Mar 31 Florian Wrastill, Austrian composer of sacred music, choir master, and Benedictine monk, born near Königgrätz, Bohemia [now Hradec Králové, Czech Republic] (d. 1758)
- Apr 9 Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1750)
- Apr 30 Guillaume-Gommaire Kennis, Belgian violinist and composer, born in Lier, Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1789)
- May 13 Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740-1780) only woman to rule Habsburg Empire in her own right, born in Vienna (d. 1780)
- Jun 8 John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (1786-90), born in Newport, Colony of Rhode Island, British America (d. 1795)
- Jun 18 Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, Czech composer, born in Německý Brod, Bohemia (d. 1757)
- Jun 20 Jacques Saly, French sculptor, born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1776)
- Jun 27 Louis Guillaume Lemonnier, French botanist and contributor to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, born in Paris (d. 1799)
- Jul 5 Pedro III, King of Portugal and the Algarves (1777-86) and consort of Queen Maria I of Portugal, born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1786)
- Aug 13 Christoph Nichelmann, German composer and harpsichordist, born in Treuenbrietzen, Germany (d. 1762)
- Aug 13 Louis François I, Prince of Conti, French nobleman and military leader, born in Paris (d. 1776)
- Aug 15 Blind Jack [John Metcalf], English 1st professional roadbuilder, born in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England (d. 1810)
- Sep 4 Job Orton, English minister, born in Shrewsbury, England (d. 1783)
- Sep 22 Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (d. 1783)
- Sep 24 Horace Walpole, British horror writer (Castle of Otranto), born in London (d. 1797)
- Oct 5 Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle, duchess de Châteauroux, French mistress of King Louis XV of France, born in Paris (d. 1744)
Jean-Baptiste Le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783)
Nov 16 French Enlightenment philosopher and mathematician (Encyclopédie), born in Paris
- Dec 9 Johann Winckelmann, German archaeologist (History of Ancient Art), born in Stendal, Prussia (d. 1768)
- Dec 16 Elizabeth Carter, English poet, bluestocking and translator (All the Works of Epictetus Which Are Now Extant), born in Deal, England (d. 1806)
- Dec 20 Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat, born in Dijon, France (d. 1787)
Pius VI (1717-1799)
Dec 25 Italian Pope (1775-99), born in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, Papal States
