- Jan 6 Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music, dies at 79
- Jan 22 Georges-Julien Sieber, French music publisher and composer, dies at 71
- Mar 28 Mariano Rodríguez de Ledesma, Spanish composer, dies at 67
- Apr 23 Erik Gustaf Geijer, Swedish writer and composer, dies at 64
- May 14 Fanny Cacilia Mendelssohn Hensel, German composer, dies at 41
- May 16 Kaspar Ett, German organist/composer, dies at 59
- Jul 19 Johann Wilhelm Wilms, German-Dutch organist and composer (Wien Neêrlands Bloed - Dutch national anthem, 1815-1932), dies at 75
- Oct 14 William Michael Rooke, composer, dies at 53
Felix Mendelssohn
Nov 4 (Jacob Ludwig) Felix Mendelssohn [Bartholdy], German composer and pianist (Italian Symphony; Songs Without Words), dies at 38, after a series of strokes
- Dec 29 William Crotch, British child prodigy organist, composer (Palestine Oratorio), and educator (Royal Academy), dies at 72