- Jan 8 Philip Astley, English 'Father of the Modern Circus', born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England (d. 1814)
- Jan 15 Eugene Godecharle, Belgian violinist and composer, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1798)
- Jan 24 Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)
- Jan 26 Johann Friedrich Ludwig Sievers, German composer, born in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1806)
- Mar 4 Johann Heinrich Egli, Swiss composer and violinist, born in Seegräben, Switzerland (d. 1810)
- Mar 19 Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler Túpac Amaru, Surimana, Province of Cusco, Viceroyalty of Peru (d. 1781)
- Apr 24 Roman Hoffstetter, German classical composer, born in Weikersheim, Duchy of Hohenlohe, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1815)
- May 8 Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz [Jan Křtitel Krumpholtz], Czech-French harpist and composer, born in Budenice, Zlonice, Czech Republic (d. 1790)
- May 13 Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
- May 18 Lionel Lukin, British life boat pioneer, born in Great Dunmow, Essex (d. 1834)
- Jun 17 William Hooper, American attorney and signer of U.S. Declaration of Independence, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1790)
- Jun 22 Heinrich Gottfried Reichard, German composer, born in Schleiz, Imperial County of Reuss, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1801)
- Jun 26 Arthur Middleton, American signer (Declaration of Independence), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1787)
- Jul 1 Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and writer (types of Lichtenberg), born in Ober-Ramstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1799)
- Jul 19 Jean-Baptiste Davaux, French classical composer, born in La Côte-Saint-André, France (d. 1822)
Nathanael Greene (1742-1786)
Aug 7 American military leader (major general during the American Revolutionary War), born in Potowomut, Rhode Island
- Aug 14 Marie Allard, French ballerina (Auguste Vestris), born in Marseille, France (d. 1802)
Pius VII (1742-1823)
Aug 14 Italian bishop of Imola and Pope (1800-23), born in Cesena, Italy
- Sep 14 James Wilson, One of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, born in Carskerdo, Scotland (d. 1798)
- Oct 12 Johann Peter Melchior, German sculptor, born in Lindorf, Germany (d. 1825)
- Nov 5 Richard Cosway, English portrait painter, born in Tiverton, England (d. 1821)
- Nov 18 Félix Máximo López, Spanish composer, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1821)
- Nov 21 Alessandro Felici, Italian composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1772)
- Dec 9 Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Swedish pharmacist and chemist (lemon acid), born in Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania (d. 1786)
- Dec 16 Gebhard Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, German Field Marshal (d. 1819)
- Dec 25 Charlotte von Stein, German friend of Goethe (d. 1827)