- Jan 11 Ferdinand Philipp Joseph Lobkowitz, Czech composer, dies at 59
- Feb 24 Anton Laube, Bohemian composer, dies at 65
- Apr 2 Pierre Leclair, French composer and violinist, dies at 74
- Apr 4 Mary Mead, wife of English radical and journalist John Wilkes (b. 1715)
- Apr 10 Simon Fokke, book illustrator, dies at 71
- Apr 26 Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder, dies at 66
- Apr 30 Franz K earl von Velbruck, German free mason, dies
- May 12 Abraham Trembley, Swiss naturalist (first to study freshwater polyps or hydra), dies at 73
- Jun 6 Joan Derk, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol, Leader of democratic Patriots, dies at 42
- Jun 7 Jean-Baptiste Canavas, composer, dies at 71
- Jun 13 Henry Middleton, American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1717)
- Jun 29 Caesar Rodney, American judge (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 55
- Jul 1 Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German composer and son of J.S. Bach (Sinfonias 64), dies at 73
- Jul 8 Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (b. 1735)
- Jul 15 Johan B Straub, South German sculptor, dies
Denis Diderot
Jul 31 Denis Diderot, French writer/philosopher, dies at 70
Denis Diderot
Junípero Serra
Aug 28 Junipero Serra, Spanish missionary priest who founded the 1st missions in California, dies at 70
Junípero Serra
- Sep 4 César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (geodesic labor), dies at 70
Ann Lee
Sep 8 Ann Lee, American Founder of the Shakers, dies at 48
Ann Lee
- Sep 27 Boniface Stoeckl, German composer, dies at 38
Phillis Wheatley
Dec 5 Phillis Wheatley, American poet and first published African-American woman, dies in Boston at 31
Phillis Wheatley
Samuel Johnson
Dec 13 Samuel Johnson, English scholar and lexicographer (A Dictionary of the English Language), dies at 75
Samuel Johnson