- Jan 4 Henrik Constantijn Cras, Dutch lawyer (Laudatio Hugonis Grotii), born in Leiden, Netherlands (d. 1820)
- Jan 19 Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
- Jan 25 Charles François Dumouriez, French general, born in Cambrai, France (d. 1823)
- Feb 7 Joseph Pouteau, French composer and organist, born in Chaumes-en-Brie, France (d. 1823)
- Feb 15 Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
- Mar 5 Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, doctor, Massachusetts militia officer, member of the Massachusetts legislature (d. 1819)
- Mar 16 George Clymer, American merchant and Founding Father (signed US Declaration of Independence and US Constitution), born in Philadelphia, British America (d. 1813)
- Mar 19 Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, Third Consul of France (d. 1824)
- Mar 20 Eligio Celestino, Italian violinist and composer, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1812)
- Apr 20 William Bartram, American naturalist and writer (1st naturalist to document tropical forests of Florida in "Bartram's Travels"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1823) [1]
- May 12 Johann Baptist Wanhal [Jan Křtitel Vaňhal], Czech organist, cellist, composer, and teacher, born in Nechanice, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1813)
- Jul 6 Friedrich Wilhelm Rust, German violinist and composer, born in Wörlitz, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1796)
George Clinton (1739-1812)
Jul 26 American revolutionary war soldier and politician (US Vice-President, 1805-12; Governor of New York, 1777-95 & 1801-04), born in Little Britain, New York
- Jul 29 Johannes Ritschel, German composer (Gioas, re di Giuda), born in Mannheim, Electorate of the Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1766)
- Aug 27 Michel Delalande, French sacred music composer and maître de musique (Cathedral of Chartres, 1761-85), born in La Flèche, France (d. 1812)
- Sep 7 Joseph Legros, French singer and composer who was the most prominent haute-contres of his generation, born in Monampteuil, France (d. 1793)
- Sep 13 Giuseppe Sigismondo, Italian historian and composer, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1826)
- Sep 17 John Rutledge, American 2nd Chief Justice of the United States, born in Charleston, South Carolina, British America (d. 1800)
- Oct 24 Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, German princess and composer (patron of Classical Weimar court), born in Wolfenbüttel (d. 1807)
- Oct 27 Franz Ignaz Kaa, German composer, born in Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg (d. 1818)
- Oct 30 Grigory Potemkin, Russian military leader, statesman and favorite of Catherine the Great, born in Chizhovo near Smolensk (d. 1791)
- Nov 2 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian violinist and composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1799)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90