Jul 2 John Fitch, American inventor and clockmaker (1st US steamboat service), dies of an opium overdose at 55 Jul 15 Gaetano Pugnani, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 66 Jul 21 François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal, dies at 64 Jun 1798 Famous Deaths by Year Aug 1798 Famous People by Cause of Death Assassination Car Crash Hanging Killed in Action Plane Crash Poisoning