- Jan 12 Ferdinand I, king of Sicily & Naples. (d. 1825)
- Jan 12 Jacob Michael Reinhold Lenz, Baltic German poet and dramatist (The Soldiers), born in Sesswegen, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (d. 1792)
- Jan 14 Corona Schröter, German musician, born in Guben, Germany (d. 1802)
- Jan 18 Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer, born in Klein-Thaya, South Moravia (now Dyjákovičky, Czech Republic) (d. 1831)
- Jan 21 Josephus Andreas Fodor, Dutch Classical era violinist and composer, born in Venlo, Netherlands (d. 1828)
- Feb 4 Blas de Laserna, Spanish composer (championed traditional Spanish musical forms), born in Corella, Navarra (d. 1816)
- Feb 12 Joseph Waast Aubert Nonot, French organist and composer (d. 1840)
- Feb 18 Karl Haack, German composer, born in Berlin (d. 1819)
- Feb 19 Cornelis de Gijselaar, Dutch politician and patriot during the Dutch Republic, born in Gorinchem (d. 1815)
- Feb 20 Johann Heinrich Voß, German poet (d. 1826)
- Mar 5 Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, harpsichordist, mandolin player, composer, and opera conductor, born in Choteč, Bohemia, Habsburg Empire (now Czech Republic) (d. 1829)
James Madison (1751-1836)
Mar 16 4th US President (1809-17), born in Port Conway, Virginia
- Mar 29 Supply Belcher, American composer and singer (The Harmony of Maine), born in Stoughton, Massachusetts (d. 1836)
- Apr 3 Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, French opera composer, born in Eymet, France (d. 1796)
- Apr 9 Emanuel Schikaneder, German playwright and composer, born in Straubing, Germany (d. 1812)
- May 12 Gaetano Manna, Italian composer, born in Naples (d. 1804)
- May 24 Charles Emanuel IV, King of Sardinia (1796-1802), born in Turin (d. 1819)
- Jun 2 Antoni Weinert, Polish composer, born in Lusdorf (d. 1850)
- Jun 4 John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, British barrister and politician, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland (d. 1838)
- Jul 11 Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, born in Leicester House, London, England (d. 1775)
- Jul 30 Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian pianist and Wolfgang's sister, born in Salzburg, Austria (d. 1829)
- Aug 7 Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (1767-1806), born in Berlin (d. 1820)
- Aug 12 Johann Baptist Lasser, German composer, born in Steinkirchen, Electorate of Bavaria (now Germany) (d. 1805)
- Aug 21 Johann Georg Witthauer, German composer, born in Neustadt near Coburg (d. 1802)
- Aug 23 Louis-Francois Beffara, French lexicographer, born in Nonancourt, France (d. 1838)
- Sep 1 Emmanuel Schikaneder, German performing arts impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and librettist (Mozart's "Magic Flute"), born in Straubing, Bavaria (d. 1812)
- Sep 10 Bartolomeo Campagnoli, Italian violinist and composer, born in Cento, Italy (d. 1827)
- Sep 13 Henry Kobell, Dutch painter and cartoonist, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1779)
- Oct 16 Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Queen of Prussia (d. 1805)
- Oct 20 Hendrik van Stralen, Dutch politician
- Oct 21 David Moritz Michael, Moravian conductor and composer, (Die Wasserfahrt -The Water Journey), born in Kühnhausen, Prussia (now Germany) (d. 1827)
- Oct 28 Dmitry Stepanovich Bortniansky, Russian-Ukrainian harpsichordist and composer (Tantum Ergo), born in Glukhov, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) (d. 1825)
- Oct 30 Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright (The Rivals, The School for Scandal) and Whig MP, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1816)
- Dec 7 Jurriaan François de Friderici, governor-general of Suriname, born in Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1812)
- Dec 9 Maria Luisa of Parma, Queen of Charles IV of Spain, born in Parma (d. 1819)
- Dec 10 George Shaw, English botanist and zoologist, born in Bierton, Buckinghamshire (d. 1813)
- Dec 26 Clement Hofbauer, Austrian missionary and saint (d. 1820)
- Dec 28 Josef Blazej Smrcek, Czech composer (d. 1813)