- Jan 13 Luca Sorkočević, Croatian nobleman and composer (composed 1st Croatian symphony), born in Dubrovnik, Republic of Rugosa (now Croatia) (d. 1789)
- Jan 17 François-Joseph Gossec, Belgian-French composer (Les Pêcheurs; Mirza), born in Vergnies, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) (d. 1829)
- Jan 31 Julien-Amable Mathieu, French composer (d. 1811)
- Jan 31 Robert Morris, English-born merchant and American founding father (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Liverpool, Enhland (d. 1784)
- Feb 20 Franz Ignaz Beck, German violinist, composer, conductor and music teacher, born in Mannheim, Electorate of the Palatinate (d. 1809)
- Mar 1 Pieter Valck, Dutch artist and sculptor (d. 1783)
- Mar 18 Joseph Schmitt, German-Dutch composer, born in Gernsheim (d. 1791)
- Mar 19 Thomas McKean, American attorney and politician (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in New London, Pennsylvania (d. 1817)
- Apr 17 Taksin, King of Siam (1767-82), born in Ayutthaya, Thailand (d. 1782)
- May 23 Franz Anton Mesmer, Austrian physician and hypnotist (Mesmerism), born in Iznang, Germany (d. 1815)
- Jun 3 John Francis Edward Acton, French-born English Naval Commander and PM of Naples (remembered for his brutality towards French supporters), born in Besançon, France (1811)
- Jun 15 Johann Ernst Altenburg, German composer, organist and trumpeter, born in Weißenfels (d. 1801)
- Jun 28 Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French composer, born in Abbeville, Hauts-de-France, France (d. 1794)
- Jul 27 Jakob Zupan, Slovenian composer, born in Schrott, Upper Styria (d. 1810)
- Sep 5 Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, French composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1794)
- Oct 7 Ralph Abercromby, English army commander (Dutch Guyana)
- Oct 14 Francis Lightfoot Lee, American advocate for independence (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Stratford Hall Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia Colony (d. 1797)
- Oct 17 Grigori G. Orlov, Russian guard officer and favorite of Catherine II
Daniel Boone (1734-1820)
Nov 2 American frontiersman and explorer (US Hall of Fame 1915), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Nov 25 Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Wenkel, German composer, born in Niedergebra, Nordhausen, Germany (d. 1792)
- Dec 17 Georg Peter Weimar, German cantor and composer, born in Stotternheim (d. 1800)
- Dec 17 Maria I of Portugal, Queen of Portugal and the Algarves, born in Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal (d. 1816)
- Dec 17 William Floyd, American soldier who signed the US Declaration of Independence, born in Brookhaven, Province of New York (d. 1821)
- Dec 18 Jean-Baptiste Rey, French conductor (Paris Opera) and composer, born in Lauzerte, France (d. 1810)