- Jan 2 Gugliemo Libri [della Somaia], Italian mathematician and book collector (stole 30,000 books), born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1869)
- Jan 3 Douglas William Jerrold, English writer, playwright and wit (Punch Mag), born in London, England (d. 1857)
- Jan 6 Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1888)
- Jan 9 Christopher Gustavus Memminger, Secy Treas (Confederacy) (d. 1888)
- Jan 15 Marjory Fleming, Scottish writer and poet, born in Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom (d. 1811)
- Jan 29 James Outram “the Bayard of India”, English general and administrator in India, born in Bulterley Hall, Derbyshire (d. 1868)
- Feb 2 Albert Sidney Johnston, Gen (Confederate Army), (d. 1862)
- Feb 15 John Augustus Sutter, Swiss-American immigrant on whose land the California gold rush began (New Helvetia, Sutter Mill), born in Kandern, Baden (d. 1880)
- Feb 20 Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich, Swiss pianist and composer, born in Brugg, Switzerland (d. 1836)
- Feb 23 John Sutter, German-Swiss-American colonist who established Sutter's Fort in what is now Sacramento and where gold was first discovered in California, born in Kandern, Margraviate of Baden, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1880)
- Apr 2 Franz Paul Lachner, German composer, born in Rain, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1890)
- Apr 7 Flora Tristan, French writer and social activist, born in Paris (d. 1844)
- Apr 7 James Curtiss, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
- Apr 14 Friedrich von Amerling, Austrian painter, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1887)
- Apr 18 Charles Ferdinand Pahud, Governor General of the Dutch East Indies (1856-61), born in Amsterdam (d. 1873)
- Apr 21 Levin Minn Powell, American Commander (Union Navy), born in Winchester, Winchester City, Virginia (d. 1885)
James Brooke (1803-1868)
Apr 29 British adventurer and 1st Rajah of Sarawak (1841-68), born in Bandel, near Calcutta, Bengal, British India
- Apr 30 Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and statesman (Minister of War), born in Pleushagen, Poland (d. 1879)
- May 7 Johan Peter Cronhamm, Swedish composer, born in Östra Karup, Skåne, Sweden (d. 1875)
- May 8 Joseph Napoleon Ney, French politician, born in Paris (d. 1857)
- May 12 Justus von Liebig, German agricultural and biological chemist who is considered the founder of organic chemistry, born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany (d. 1873)
- May 17 Robert Smith Surtees, British novelist (Jorrocks’s Jaunts and Jollities), born in The Riding, England (d. 1864)
- May 24 Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish zoologist, born in Kotka, Finland (d. 1866)
- May 24 Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French prince of Canino and Musignano, born in Paris (d. 1857)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
May 25 American essayist and philosopher (Concord Hymn), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Jun 4 Gabriel J. Rains, American army officer, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in New Bern, North Carolina (d. 1881)
- Jun 10 Henry Darcy, French hydraulic engineer (Darcy's Law), born in Dijon, France (d. 1858)
- Jun 24 George James Webb, English-American composer, born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England (d. 1887)
- Jun 29 John Newton Brown, American publisher and Baptist teacher, born in New London, Connecticut (d. 1868)
- Jun 30 Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet (Death's Jest-Book), born in Clifton, Somerset, England (d. 1849)
- Jul 12 Peter Chanel, French priest and saint, born in Montrevel-en-Bresse, Ain, France (d. 1841)
- Jul 20 Jakob Zeugheer, Swiss composer, born in Zürich (d. 1865)
- Jul 23 Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, Austrian lawyer and composer, born in Lubomirski Palace, Opole Lubelskie, Poland (d. 1883)
- Jul 24 Alexander Jackson Davis, American architect (gothic revivalist), born in New York City (d. 1892)
John Ericsson (1803-1889)
Jul 31 Swedish-American inventor (screw propeller, rotating turret), born in Långban, Sweden
- Aug 3 Joseph Paxton, English landscape architect (Crystal Palace), born in Milton Bryan, Bedfordshire (d. 1865)
- Aug 13 Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher and writer, born in Moscow (d. 1869)
- Aug 15 James Douglas, British-Canadian fur trader and politician (1st Governor of British Columbia 1858-64) called "The Father of British Columbia", born in Demerara, Guyana (d. 1877)
- Aug 18 Nathan Clifford, American statesman, diplomat, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1881)
- Aug 25 Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duque de Caxias and Brazilian military leader, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1880)
- Aug 27 Edward Beecher, American theologian, born in East Hampton, New York (d. 1895)
- Sep 1 Ägid Karl Lickl, Austrian guitar virtuoso, pianist, and composer, born in Vienna (d. 1864)
- Sep 1 Jacobus Abels, Dutch painter (moonlit landscapes), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1866)
- Sep 3 Alexander Gurilyov, Russian composer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1858)
- Sep 3 Prudence Crandall, American educator and founder of School for "young ladies of colour", born in Hopkinton, Rhode Island (d. 1890)
- Sep 4 Sarah Childress Polk, Wife of the 11th President of the United States, James K. Polk (1845-1849), born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (d. 1891)
- Sep 19 Maria Anna of Savoy, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, born in Palazzo Colonna, Rome, Papal States (d. 1884)
- Sep 27 Samuel Francis DuPont, American Rear Admiral (Union Navy), born in Bayonne, New Jersey (d. 1865)
- Sep 28 Prosper Mérimée, French author (Carmen), born in Paris (d. 1870)
- Sep 29 Charles-Francois Sturm, French mathematician (Sturm's Theorem), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1855)
- Sep 29 Mercator Cooper, American sea captain (first to visit Japan and Antarctica), born in Southampton, New York (d. 1872)
- Sep 30 Ferdinand Berthier, French deaf educator (founder of the Société Centrale des Sourds-muets), born in Louhans, France (d. 1886)
- Oct 3 John Gorrie, American scientist and inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 1855)
- Oct 6 Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, Prussian physicist and meteorologist, born in Legnica, Poland (d. 1879)
- Oct 11 Albartus Telting, Frisian poet (Frisianch Jierboeckjen), born in Franeker, Netherlands (d. 1863)
- Oct 21 George Wright, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Norwich, Vermont (d. 1865)
- Oct 21 Solon Robinson, American journalist (New York Tribune), writer (Hot Corn: Life Scenes in New York Illustrated), and agriculturist, born in Tolland, Connecticut (d. 1880)
- Oct 25 Maria van Ackere-Doolaeghe, Flemish poet (Daisies, Avondlamp), born in Diksmuide, Belgium (d. 1884)
- Nov 14 Jacob Abbott, American writer (d. 1879)
- Nov 18 Cornelis Broere, Dutch Roman Catholic priest and poet, born in Amsterdam (d. 1860)
Theodore Dwight Weld (1803-1895)
Nov 23 American abolitionist and writer (American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses), born in Hampton, Connecticut
Christian Doppler (1803-1853)
Nov 29 Austrian physicist (Doppler effect), born in Salzburg, Austria
- Nov 29 Gottfried Semper, German architect (Semper Opera house), born in Altona, Duchy of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1879)
- Dec 4 Augustus diZerega, American ship owner (Red Z Line), born in Martinique (d. 1888)
- Dec 5 Fyodor Tyutchev, Russian poet and statesman, born in Bryansk, Oryol Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1873)
- Dec 7 Maria Josepha of Saxony, Queen consort of Spain, born in Dresden Castle, Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1829)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Dec 11 French composer (Symphonie fantastique), born in La Côte-Saint-André, France
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