Benedict Arnold (1741-1801)
Jan 14 American general and turncoat (American Revolutionary War), born in Norwich, Connecticut
- Jan 27 Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
- Feb 8 André Grétry, French opera composer, born in Prince-Bishopric of Liège (now Belgium) (d. 1813)
- Feb 9 Henri-Joseph Rigel, German composer, born in Wertheim am Main, Duchy of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1799)
- Feb 10 Franz Adam Veichtner, German violinist and composer, baptized in Regensburg, Bavaria (d. 1822)
- Mar 13 Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1764-90), born in Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria (d. 1790)
- Mar 20 Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
- Mar 28 Johann Andre, German composer, born in Offenbach, Germany (d. 1799)
- Apr 10 Basílio da Gama, Portuguese poet (O Uraguai), born in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, Colony of Brazil (d. 1795)
- Apr 14 Emperor Momozono, 116th Emperor of Japan, born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1762)
- Apr 15 Charles Willson Peale, American painter remembered for portraits of leading American Revolution figures (George Washington), born in Chester, Province of Maryland (d. 1827)
- Apr 17 Johann Gottlieb Naumann, German composer, born in Blasewitz, Dresden, Germany (d. 1801)
- Apr 17 Samuel Chase, American judge (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Somerset County, Maryland (d. 1811)
- May 5 John Archer, American Congressman who received the 1st medical diploma issued on US continent (1768), born near Churchville, Maryland (d. 1810)
- May 10 Johann Michael Schmidt, German composer and theologian, born in Meiningen, Thuringia (d. 1799)
- May 17 John Penn, American attorney (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia (d. 1788)
- May 23 Andrea Lucchesi, Italian composer, born in Motta di Livenza, Italy (d. 1801)
- May 29 Johann Gottfried Krebs, German composer, born in Zwickau, Germany (d. 1814)
- Jun 11 Joseph Warren, American physician and soldier, born in Roxbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1775)
- Jun 19 Reinier Vinkeles, Dutch engraver and art collector, born in Amsterdam (d. 1816)
- Jun 22 Luigi Tomasini, Italian violinist and composer (head of Prince Esterházy's court orchestra), born in Pesaro, Italy (d. 1808)
- Jul 27 François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French composer, born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1808)
- Aug 15 Thomas Norris, English singer and composer, baptized in Mere, Wiltshire (d. 1790)
- Aug 23 Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, French explorer (led 1785 voyage of discovery), born in Albi, France (d. c. 1788?)
- Aug 25 Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, born in Bischofswerda, Germany (d. 1792)
- Aug 31 Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general, born in Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 1834)
- Aug 31 Johann Paul Aegidius Martini, composer, born in Freystadt, Germany (d. 1816)
- Sep 11 Johann Jakob Engel, German author (Herr Lorenz Stark), born in Parchim, Germany (d. 1802)
- Sep 22 Peter Simon Pallas, German geologist and zoologist (scientific expeditions through Russia and Siberia), born in Berlin (d. 1811)
- Sep 25 Vaclav Pichl, Czech composer, born in Bechyně, Czech Republic (d. 1805)
- Oct 18 Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French army general and writer (Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)), born in Amiens, Kingdom of France (d. 1803)
- Oct 30 Angelica Kauffmann, Swiss Neoclassical painter, born in Chur, League of God's House (now Switzerland) (d. 1807)
- Nov 2 Joan Derk, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol, Leader of democratic Patriots, born in Tiel, Netherlands (d. 1784)
- Nov 15 Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss writer, philosopher and founder of physiognomics, born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1801)
- Nov 25 Johann Christian Frischmuth, German composer, born in Schwabhausen, Germany (d. 1790)
- Nov 27 Jean-Pierre Duport, French composer (d. 1818)
- Dec 8 Maximilien Gardel, French ballet dancer and choreographer (Menuet Reine), born in Mannheim, Germany (d. 1787)
- Dec 10 Aagje Deken, Dutch writer (For the Elderly & Children), born in Amstelveen, Netherlands (d. 1804)
- Dec 30 Bartolomeo Giacometti, Italian composer, born in Verona, Republic of Venice (d. 1809)
- Dec 31 Isabella Maria of Parma, wife of future Holy Roman emperor, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1763)