- Dec 13 Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (b. 1717)
- Dec 16 Johann Adolf Hasse, Dutch operatic composer (Sesostrate), dies at 84
- Dec 16 Yoriyuki Arima, Japanese mathematician (approximated the value of pi and its square, pi^2), dies at 68
- Dec 16 Sir William James, British naval commander (b. 1720)
- Dec 20 Antonio Soler, Spanish Catalan composer (Fandango), dies at 54
- Dec 31 Gualtherus van Doeveren, Zealand-Flanders physician, dies at 53