- Jan 13 Luca Sorkočević, Croatian nobleman and composer (composed 1st Croatian symphony), born in Dubrovnik, Republic of Rugosa (now Croatia) (d. 1789)
- Jan 17 François-Joseph Gossec, Belgian-French composer (Les Pêcheurs; Mirza), born in Vergnies, Austrian Netherlands (d. 1829)
- Jan 31 Julien-Amable Mathieu, French composer, born in Versailles, France (d. 1811)
Robert Morris (1734-1806)
Jan 31 English-born merchant and American founding father who signed the US Declaration of Independence, born in Liverpool, England
- Feb 20 Franz Ignaz Beck, German violinist, composer, conductor and music teacher, born in Mannheim, Electorate of the Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1809)
- Mar 1 Pieter Valck, Dutch artist and sculptor (d. 1783)
- Mar 18 Joseph Schmitt, German-Dutch composer, born in Gernsheim, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1791)
- Mar 19 Thomas McKean, American attorney and politician (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in New London, Pennsylvania (d. 1817)
- Apr 17 Taksin, King of Siam (1767-82), born in Ayutthaya, Thailand (d. 1782)
- May 23 Franz Anton Mesmer, Austrian physician and hypnotist (Mesmerism), born in Iznang, Germany (d. 1815)
- Jun 3 John Francis Edward Acton, French-born English Naval Commander and PM of Naples (remembered for his brutality towards French supporters), born in Besançon, France (d. 1811)
- Jun 15 Johann Ernst Altenburg, German composer, organist and trumpeter, born in Weißenfels, Duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1801)
- Jun 28 Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French composer and organist (Notre Dame, 1783-93), born in Abbeville, Hauts-de-France, France (d. 1794)
- Jul 27 Jakob Zupan, Slovenian composer, born in Prevoje pri Šentvidu, Venetian Slovenia (d. 1810)
- Sep 5 Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, French composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1794)
- Oct 7 Ralph Abercromby, British general (commanded of British forces in West Indies, North Holland and Egypt), born at Menstrie Castle, Clackmannanshire, Scotland (d. 1801)
- Oct 14 Francis Lightfoot Lee, American advocate for independence (signed US Declaration of Independence), born in Stratford Hall Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia Colony (d. 1797)
- Oct 17 Grigori Orlov, Russian military officer and favorite of Catherine the Great (helped her overthrow Peter III), born in Bezhetsky Uyezd, Russia (d. 1783) [NS]
Daniel Boone (1734-1820)
Nov 2 American frontiersman and explorer (US Hall of Fame 1915), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Nov 25 Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Wenkel, German composer, born in Niedergebra, Nordhausen, Germany (d. 1792)
- Dec 17 Georg Peter Weimar, German cantor and composer, born in Stotternheim (d. 1800)
- Dec 17 Maria I of Portugal, Queen of Portugal and the Algarves, born in Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal (d. 1816)
- Dec 17 William Floyd, American soldier who signed the US Declaration of Independence, born in Brookhaven, Province of New York (d. 1821)
- Dec 18 Jean-Baptiste Rey, French conductor (Paris Opera) and composer, born in Lauzerte, France (d. 1810)
Year of the Rabbit
Year of the Dragon
Year of the Snake
Year of the Horse
Year of the Goat/Sheep
Year of the Monkey