- Jan 3 Konstantin Ushinsky, Russian educationalist, dies at 46
- Jan 17 Alexander Anderson, American engraver and illustrator (Shakespeare), dies at 94
- Jan 21 Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
- Jan 26 Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1785)
- Jan 29 Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, dies at 72
- Feb 11 Jacob de Kempenaer, Dutch lawyer and Minister of Internal Affairs (1848-49), dies at 76
- Feb 14 St. John Richardson Liddell, American Civil War Confederate General, dies at 54
- Feb 26 Wyatt Outlaw, African American leader of Union League in NC, lynched
Francisco Solano López
Mar 1 Francisco Solano López, President and Dictator of Paraguay (1862-70), shouts "¡Muero con mi patria!" (I die with my nation) and dies in a struggle with Brazilian soldiers attempting to disarm him at 43
Francisco Solano López
- Mar 11 Moshoeshoe I, King of Lesotho (1822-70), dies at about 47
- Mar 28 George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
- Apr 1 Patrick Gass, sergeant of Lewis & Clark Expedition, dies at 98
- Apr 4 Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
- Apr 15 Emma Willard, American women's rights activist and educator who founded the 1st school for women's higher education in the US, dies at 83
- Apr 16 Anatoli O Demidov, Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies
- Apr 19 Andreas Schelfhout, painter/etcher/lithographer, dies at 83
- May 6 James Young Simpson, Scottish obstetrician who popularized chloroform for medicinal use, dies at 58
Charles Dickens
Jun 9 Charles Dickens, English writer (David Copperfield, Oliver Twist), dies of stroke at 58
Charles Dickens
David Farragut
Aug 14 David Farragut, American Admiral ("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"), dies at 69
David Farragut
- Aug 18 Felix Salm-Salm, Prussian/US prince/brigadier general, dies in battle
- Aug 21 Ma Xinyi Viceroy of Liangjiang of the late Qing Dynasty in China (b. 1821)
- Aug 24 Edwin Gray Lee, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 34
- Sep 11 Eugenio Lucas y Padilla, Spanish poet, dies at about 46
- Sep 12 Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (The Hasheesh Eater), dies at 34
- Sep 23 Prosper Mérimée, French author (Carmen), dies at 66
- Sep 27 Henry TP Comstock, Canadian silver prospector, dies at 50
Robert E. Lee
Oct 12 Robert E. Lee, American General who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War, dies of pneumonia at 63
Robert E. Lee
Alexandre Dumas
Dec 5 Alexandre Dumas, French writer (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo), dies at 68
Alexandre Dumas