Gregor Mendel
Jan 6 Gregor Mendel, Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), dies at 61
- Jan 6 Paul Taglioni, "the Great," Italian Austrian choreographer, dies at 75
- Jan 17 Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist, dies at 79
- Jan 21 Auguste Franchomme, French cellist and composer, dies at 75
- Jan 24 Johann Christian Gebauer, Danish composer, dies at 75
- Jan 26 John Letcher, American lawyer and politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia, dies at 70
- Feb 8 Arnold Henry Guyot, Swiss-American geologist, geographer and meteorologist, dies at 76
- Feb 14 Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, 1st wife of Theodore Roosevelt, dies of Bright's disease at 22
- Feb 21 John Pike Hullah, English composer, dies at 71
- Feb 23 Jimmy Tambo, Australian aboriginal, US circus attraction, dies at 23
- Mar 1 Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician, dies at 63
- Mar 13 Leland Stanford, Jr., son of American railroad magnate, Stanford University named for him (b. 1868)
- Mar 14 Quintino Sella, Italian statesman (b. 1827)
- Mar 19 Alfonse Charles Renaud de Vilback, composer, dies at 54
- Mar 21 Ezra Abbot, American bible scholar, dies at 64
- Mar 30 Hans Hampel, Czech composer, dies at 61
- Mar 31 Jan T Beelen, Neth/Belgian catholic bible expert, dies at 77
- Apr 3 Carel JCH van Nispen tot Sevenaer, Dutch Cath politician, dies at 59
- Apr 5 John Wisden, English cricketer (prominent Sussex player), dies at 57
- Apr 6 Emanuel Geibel, writer, dies at 68
- Apr 7 Maria van Ackere-Doolaeghe, Flemish poet (Daisies, Avondlamp), dies at 80
- Apr 11 Charles Reade, English novelist (Cloister & Hearth), dies at 69
- May 4 Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, dies at 80
- May 7 Judah P. Benjamin, 3rd Confederate States Secretary of State and 2nd Confederate States Secretary of War, dies at 72
- May 9 Hermanus Willem Witteveen, Dutch theologist, dies at 69
- May 12 [Friedrich] Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (The Bartered Bride; Má Vlast; Moldau), dies at 60
Cyrus McCormick
May 13 Cyrus McCormick, American inventor and businessman (mechanical reaper), dies at 75
- May 17 Louis Brassin, Belgian pianist, composer and music educator, dies at 43
- May 22 William T. Wofford, Brigadier General (Confederate Army-American Civil War), dies at 59
- Jun 8 Henry Clay Work, American composer, dies at 51
- Jun 18 Juan Bautista Alberdi, Argentine political theorist and writer (Crime of War), dies at 74
- Jun 21 Alexander, Prince of Orange, heir apparent to the Netherlands, dies of typhus at 32
- Jun 25 Hans Rott, Austrian composer, dies at 25
- Jul 5 Victor Masse, composer, dies at 62
Paul Morphy
Jul 10 Paul Morphy, American chess player considered the greatest of his era (1857-61), dies at 47
- Jul 18 Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (b. 1829)
- Aug 1 Heinrich Laube, writer, dies
- Aug 6 Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman, dies at 71
- Aug 14 Arnoldus Pannevis, South African shipping agent/linguist, dies at 46
- Aug 23 LeRoy Pope Walker, American lawyer and 1st Confederate States Secretary of War (1861), dies at 67
- Sep 17 Louis Schubert, composer, dies at 56
- Sep 20 Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist, dies at 82
- Sep 28 Fred Morley, cricket lefty quick (16 wkts in 4 Tests for Eng), dies
- Sep 30 Louis Lacombe, French pianist and composer, dies at 65
- Oct 3 Hans Makart, Austrian painter (Plague in Florenz), dies at 44
- Oct 31 Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian diarist and painter, dies at 25
- Nov 2 Auguste Vaucorbeil, French composer, dies at 62
- Nov 11 Alfred Brehm German zoologist (b. 1827)
- Nov 16 František Chvostek, Moravian physician (b. 1835)
- Nov 27 Franziska "Fanny" Elssler, Austrian ballerina/choreography, dies at 74
- Dec 1 William Swainson (lawyer), second, and last, Attorney-General (New Zealand) of the Crown Colony of New Zealand (b. 1809)
- Dec 4 Alice Mary Smith, British composer, dies at 45
- Dec 28 Gerben Colmjon, Frisian linguist and publisher, dies at 56