- Jan 25 Hans Christoph Ernst von Gagern, German statesman & political writer, born in Kleinniedesheim, Germany (d. 1852)
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
Feb 13 British economist and demographer (Law of Malthus), born in Guildford, England
- Apr 15 Friedrich Bouterwek, German philosopher and critic, born in Oker, Hanover, Germany (d. 1828)
- Apr 22 Madame de Staël [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein], French-Swiss author (De l’Allemagne), born in Paris (d. 1817)
- Apr 24 Robert Bailey Thomas, American journalist and founder (The Farmer's Almanac), born in Grafton, Massachusetts (d. 1846)
- Jun 21 Emanuel count de las Cases, French historian (recorded last conversations of Napoleon on St Helena), born in Revel, France (d. 1842)
- Jul 6 Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American ornithologist and naturalist, born in Paisley, Scotland (d. 1813)
- Jul 8 Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
- Jul 9 Jacob Perkins, American inventor (father of the refrigerator), born in Newburyport, Massachusetts (d. 1849)
- Jul 9 Johanna Schopenhauer, German writer and mother of Arthur Schopenhauer, born in Gdańsk, Royal Prussia, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (d. 1838)
- Jul 20 Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin & Kincardine, British diplomat, born in Broomhall, Fife, Scotland (d. 1841)
- Aug 1 Jeffry Wyatville, English architect and garden designer (alterations and extensions to Chatsworth House and Windsor Castle), born in Burton upon Trent, England (d. 1840)
- Aug 6 William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium), born in East Dereham, Norfolk, England (d. 1828)
- Sep 2 James Forten, African-American abolitionist and businessman who used his wealth to push for civil rights and the abolition of slavery, born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America (d. 1842)
John Dalton (1766-1844)
Sep 6 English physicist and chemist who developed the atomic theory of matter and researched colour blindness, born in Eaglesfield, England
- Sep 13 Samuel Wilson, American meat packer and possible namesake of Uncle Sam, born in Menotomy, Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1854)
- Sep 25 Armand-Emmanuel, Duc de Richelieu, Prime Minister of France (1815-18, 1820-21), born in Paris (d. 1822)
- Oct 23 Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy, French general and marshal, born in Paris (d. 1847)
- Nov 2 Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Czech field marshal, born in Sedlčany, Czech Republic (d. 1858)
- Nov 24 Friedrich Weinbrenner, German architect, born in Karlsruhe (d. 1826)
- Dec 1 Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Russian writer (d. 1826)