- Jan 3 Willem de Fesch, Dutch violinist/composer (Joseph), dies at 73
- Jan 4 Stephen Hales, English physiologist, chemist and inventor (first person to measure blood pressure), dies at 83
- Jan 10 Edward Boscawen, British admiral in the Royal Navy, dies at 49
- Feb 1 Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French Jesuit prince and historian, dies at 78
- Feb 15 Carlo Cecere, Italian composer, dies at 54
- Mar 7 Antonio Palella, Italian composer and harpsichordist, dies at 68
- Mar 27 Johann Ludwig Steiner, Swiss composer, dies at 72
- Apr 4 Théodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler, dies at 38
- Apr 9 William Law, British minister and theologian (b. 1686)
- Apr 15 Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician, dies at 78
- Apr 15 William Oldys, English antiquarian & bibliographer, dies at b64
- Apr 17 Thomas Bayes, English mathematician
- May 14 Thomas Simpson, English mathematician (rule of Simpson), dies at 50
- May 15 Jacob Mossel, Dutch Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1750-61), dies at 56
- Jun 2 Jonas Alströmer, Swedish industrialist (b. 1685)
- Jun 12 Meinrad Spiess, German composer, dies at 77
- Jul 4 Samuel Richardson, English novelist (Pamela), dies at 71
- Jul 13 Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (b. 1712)
- Aug 3 Johann Matthias Gesner, German classical scholar, dies at 70
- Aug 18 François Gaspard Adam, French sculptor (garden sculptures), dies at 51
- Sep 8 Bernard Forest de Bélidor, French engineer (b. 1698)
- Sep 19 Pieter Musschenbroek, Dutch mathematician and physician (Leydan jar), dies at 69
- Nov 30 John Dollond, British optician and owner of 1st patent for achromatic lens, dies at 55
- Dec 23 Alestair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish Jacobite spy