Benedict Arnold (1741-1801)
Jan 14 American general and turncoat (American Revolutionary War), born in Norwich, Connecticut
- Jan 27 Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
- Mar 13 Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1764-90), born in Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria (d. 1790)
- Mar 20 Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
- Apr 10 Basílio da Gama, Portuguese poet (O Uraguai), born in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, Colony of Brazil (d. 1795)
- Apr 14 Emperor Momozono, 116th Emperor of Japan, born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1762)
- Apr 15 Charles Willson Peale, American painter remembered for portraits of leading American Revolution figures (George Washington), born in Chester, Province of Maryland (d. 1827)
- Apr 17 Samuel Chase, American judge (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Somerset County, Maryland (d. 1811)
- May 5 John Archer, American Congressman who received the 1st medical diploma issued on US continent (1768), born near Churchville, Maryland (d. 1810)
- May 17 John Penn, American attorney (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia (d. 1788)
- Jun 11 Joseph Warren, American physician and soldier, born in Roxbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1775)
- Jun 19 Reinier Vinkeles, Dutch engraver and art collector, born in Amsterdam (d. 1816)
- Aug 23 Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, French explorer (led 1785 voyage of discovery), born in Albi, France (d. c. 1788?)
- Aug 25 Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, born in Bischofswerda, Germany (d. 1792)
- Aug 31 Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general, born in Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 1834)
- Sep 11 Johann Jakob Engel, German author (Herr Lorenz Stark), born in Parchim, Germany (d. 1802)
- Sep 22 Peter Simon Pallas, German geologist and zoologist (scientific expeditions through Russia and Siberia), born in Berlin (d. 1811)
- Oct 18 Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French army general and writer (Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)), born in Amiens, Kingdom of France (d. 1803)
- Oct 30 Angelica Kauffmann, Swiss Neoclassical painter, born in Chur, League of God's House (now Switzerland) (d. 1807)
- Nov 2 Joan Derk, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol, Leader of democratic Patriots, born in Tiel, Netherlands (d. 1784)
- Nov 15 Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss writer, philosopher and founder of physiognomics, born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1801)
- Dec 10 Aagje Deken, Dutch writer (For the Elderly & Children), born in Amstelveen, Netherlands (d. 1804)
- Dec 31 Isabella Maria of Parma, wife of future Holy Roman emperor, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1763)