- Jan 10 Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal, dies at 75
- Jan 12 Johan Herman Koekkoek, painter, dies at 72
- Jan 17 Thomas Lincoln, American farmer, carpenter, and father President Abraham Lincoln, dies at 73
- Jan 19 Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
- Jan 21 (Gustav) Albert Lortzing, German Spieloper composer and actor (Zar und Zimmerman), dies at 49
- Jan 24 Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini, Italian opera composer and conductor (La Vestale), dies at 76
John James Audubon
Jan 27 John James Audubon, American ornithologist and painter (The Birds Of America), dies at 65
John James Audubon
- Jan 27 Karl Moser, German composer, dies at 77
Mary Shelley
Feb 1 Mary Shelley, English novelist (Frankenstein), dies of a brain tumour at 53
Mary Shelley
- Feb 16 Anne Willem Carel van Nagell, Dutch politician, dies at 95
- Feb 18 Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician, dies at 46
- Feb 20 Josef Alois Ladurner, composer, dies at 81
- Feb 23 Joanna Baillie, Scottish poet and playwright, dies at 88
- Feb 25 Ferdinand Simon Gassner, composer, dies at 53
- Mar 4 Michael Henkel, German composer and organist, dies at 70
- Mar 4 James Richardson, British explorer (b. 1809)
- Mar 6 Alexander Aliabiev, Russian composer remembered as one of the fathers of Russian art song, dies at 63
Hans Christian Ørsted
- Mar 11 George McDuffie, Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
- Apr 8 John Parry [Bardd Alaw], Welsh composer and harpist, dies at 75
- Apr 9 Antoine-Charles Glachant, composer, dies at 80
- May 17 Adriaan van Bevervoorde, Dutch journalist (Treason), dies at 31
- May 22 Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer, journalist (b. 1755)
- May 23 Lucas Pieter Roodbaard, architect, dies at 69
- May 24 Stanko Vraz [Jakob Frass], Slovenian-Croatian poet (Grammatica), dies at 40
- Jul 4 Martin-Joseph Mengal, composer, dies at 67
- Jul 5 Juanita, Mexican, lynched by California gold diggers
- Jul 6 Thomas Davenport, American inventor (invented 1st commercial electric motor), dies at 48
Louis-Jacques Daguerre
Jul 10 Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor and photographer (daguerreotype), dies at 63
Louis-Jacques Daguerre
- Jul 17 Béni Egressy, Hungarian composer, dies at 37
- Aug 1 William Joseph Behr, German writer (b. 1775)
- Aug 11 Lorenz Oken, German naturalist, dies at 72
- Aug 19 Gioseffo Catrufo, composer, dies at 80
- Sep 10 Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American pioneer of educating the deaf, dies at 63
- Sep 11 Sylvester Graham, American nutritionist and minister (Graham cracker) (b. 1794)
James Fenimore Cooper
Sep 14 James Fenimore Cooper, American author (Last of Mohicans), dies of dropsy at 61
James Fenimore Cooper
- Oct 4 Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (b. 1767)
- Oct 19 Marie Thérèse Charlotte (b. 1778)
- Oct 31 Peter II, prince-bishop of Montenegro (1830-51) and poet (The Ray of The Microcosm), dies at 37
- Nov 18 Ernst August, duke of Cumberland/king of Hanover (1837-51), dies at 80
- Nov 20 Wenzel Sedlak, Bohemian clarinetist and composer, dies at 75
- Nov 26 Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, French marshal, 10th Prime Minister of France, dies at 82
J. M. W. Turner
Dec 19 J. M. W. Turner, English landscape painter (Shipwreck, Rain, Steam & Speed), dies of cholera at 76
J. M. W. Turner