- Jan 9 Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, French scientist and man of letters (b. 1657)
- Jan 9 Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician (b. 1688)
- Jan 19 Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)
- Mar 1 Edward Moore, English writer (b. 1712)
- Mar 8 Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar, dies at 55
- Mar 14 John Byng, English Admiral executed by firing squad at 52 for neglecting his duty in defence of Minorca
- Mar 20 Johann Paul Kunzen, composer, dies at 60
- Mar 27 Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, composer, dies at 39
- May 6 Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
- May 6 Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, British politician, dies at 73
- May 6 Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal, dies at 72
- Jun 27 Willem Gideon Deutz, Amsterdam regent, banker and merchant, dies at 59
- Jul 4 Jean-Joseph Vade, composer, dies at 38
- Jul 23 Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist (La Silvia), dies at 71
- Aug 11 Jose Pradas Gallen, composer, dies at 67
- Aug 28 David Hartley, English philosopher and Founder of the Associationist School of Psychology, dies at 51
- Sep 28 Andrea Zani, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 60
- Oct 17 René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (b. 1683)
- Oct 30 Osman III, sultan of Turkey (1754-57), dies
- Nov 8 Pierre Prowo, German composer, dies at 60
- Nov 12 Colley Cibber, English actor, dramatist and Poet Laureate (1730-57), dies at 86