- Jan 2 Frederick William IV, King of Prussia (1840-61) & Germany (1849-61), dies at 65
- Jan 17 Lola Montez, Irish-born adventurer (b. 1821)
- Jan 18 John Heathcoat, English inventor of lace-making machinery, dies at 77
- Jan 22 Giovanni Battista Velluti, Italian castrato singer 'the last great castrato', dies at 80
- Jan 31 Franciscus J van Vree, Dutch Catholic foreman, dies at 53
- Feb 10 Francis Danby, Irish painter, dies at 67
- Feb 12 Hippolyte-André-Baptiste Chélard, French violist, composer and conductor, dies at 72
- Feb 18 Louis C Luzac, Dutch minister of Internal Affairs, dies at 74
- Feb 21 Lars Levi Laestadius, Swedish botanist and founder of Laestadianism, dies at 61
- Mar 10 Joseph-François Snel, Belgian composer, dies at 67
- Mar 10 Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian national poet and painter, dies at 47
Elisha Otis
Apr 8 Elisha Otis, American founder of the Otis Elevator Company and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails, dies of diphtheria at 50
- Apr 11 Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet (b. 1824)
- Apr 18 August Neithardt, German composer, dies at 67
- May 3 Anthony Philip Heinrich, composer, dies at 80
- May 9 Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist & politician, dies at 55
- May 12 Christian Heinrich Hohmann, German composer, dies at 50
- May 24 Elmer E. Ellsworth, American soldier who was the 1st Union officer killed in the American Civil War, dies at 24
- Jun 1 John Q Marr, US Confederate captain, dies in battle at Fairfax Courthouse, the first Confederate death of the war
- Jun 3 Stephen A. Douglas, American politician, US senator from Illinois (Lincoln-Douglas debates), dies at 48
- Jun 5 John Garland, US Union colonel and brigadier general, dies in battle
- Jun 5 Tomas Genoves y Lapetra, Spanish composer, dies at 55
- Jun 6 Giuseppe Concone, Italian singing teacher, dies at 59
- Jun 6 Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1810)
- Jun 25 Abdulmejid I, 31st Sultan of Ottoman Empire, dies at 38
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Jun 29 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet and writer ("How Do I Love thee"), dies at 55
- Jul 2 Petrus Augustus de Génestet, Dutch vicar and poet, dies at 31
- Jul 7 John Willis Ellis, US governor of NC (1858-61), dies
- Jul 13 Robert Selden Garnett, US Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 41
- Jul 21 Francis Stebbins Bartow, Confederate colonel, dies in battle at 44
- Jul 22 Barnard Elliot Bee, US Confederate brigadier general, dies at 37
- Jul 25 Jonas Furrer, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1805)
- Aug 10 Nathaniel Lyon, American Brigadier-General (Union Army), 1st Union General to die in battle at 43
- Aug 12 Eliphalet Remington, American firearms manufacturer (Remington Arms Co., L.L.C.), dies at 67
- Aug 17 Alcée Louis la Branche, American Politician (b. 1806)
- Aug 22 Xianfeng, Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, dies at 30
- Aug 28 William Lyon Mackenzie, Canadian-American newspaper publisher, politician, and failed rebel leader, dies at 66
- Aug 29 Franz Joseph Glæser, Czech-Danish composer, dies at 63
- Sep 12 George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts, dies at 65
- Sep 14 Fortunato Santini, Italian priest and composer, dies at 83
- Oct 5 Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (b. 1778)
- Oct 6 Elias Canneman, liberal minister of Finance (1813-14), dies at 84
- Oct 21 Edward Dickinson Baker, US attorney/senator, dies in battle at 50
- Oct 21 John Breckinridge Grayson, Confederate brigadier general, dies
- Oct 25 Friedrich C von Savigny, German lawyer, dies at 82
- Nov 11 Pedro V van Alcantara, King of Portugal (1853-61), dies at 24
- Nov 13 Arthur Hugh Clough, English poet, friend of Matthew Arnold, dies at 42
- Nov 28 Robert Fuhrer, Czech composer, dies at 54
- Dec 14 Albert, English prince consort & husband of Queen Victoria, dies at 42
George Hamilton-Gordon
Dec 14 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) & Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, dies at 76
- Dec 14 Heinrich August Marschner, German opera composer, dies at 66
- Dec 15 Gualtiero Sanelli, Italian composer, dies at 45
- Dec 16 Karol Joseph Lipinski, Polish composer and virtuoso violinist, dies at 71
- Dec 26 Philip St. George Cocke, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), commits suicide at 52