- Jan 4 Joseph de Montesquiou earl d'Artagnan, French lt-general, dies at 77
- Jan 4 Meir Bacharach, Hebrew poet, dies
- Jan 19 William Congreve, English dramatist (Love for Love), dies at 58
- Jan 31 Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch navigator and explorer (1st European to discover Easter Island), dies at 69
- Mar 2 Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist, dies at 66
- Mar 21 John Law, Scottish economist and author (Money and Trade Considered), dies at about 57
- Apr 11 Manuel de Egues, composer, dies at 71
- May 4 Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French bishop and cardinal, dies at 77
- May 17 Samuel Clarke, English philosopher and theologian, dies at 53
- Jun 1 Matthaeus de Cock, governor general of Dutch Indies (1725-29), dies at about 65
- Jun 27 Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichordist, organist, singer, and composer (Les pièces de clavessin; Céphale et Procris), dies at 64
- Jul 16 Johann David Heinichen, German composer, dies at 46
- Aug 11 Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian composer, dies at 51
- Aug 15 Benjamin Neukirch, German poet (Herrn von Hofmannswaldau), dies at 64
Richard Steele (1672-1729)
Sep 1 Irish writer, playwright (The Conscious Lovers) and Whig politician who co-founded "The Spectator" magazine, dies at 57
- Sep 3 Jean Hardouin, French scholar (b. 1646)
- Sep 7 William Burnet, British-born American statesman (b. 1688)
- Oct 2 Arnold Boonen, Dutch portrait painter, dies at 60
- Oct 9 Richard Blackmore, English physician and writer (b. 1654)
- Dec 1 Christian Ludwig Boxberg, German composer, dies at 59
- Dec 1 Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician, dies at 64
- Dec 13 Anthony Collins, English philosopher (A discourse on free-thinking), dies at 53