- Jan 6 Frederick, Dutch Prince of Orange and general, second son of King William V, dies of a fever at 25
- Jan 9 Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist (b. 1718)
- Jan 22 Horace Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist, geologist and alpinist, dies at 58
- Jan 26 Gabriel Christie, British general in North America and the Caribbean who settled in Quebec, dies at 76
- Feb 4 Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (b. 1728)
- Feb 7 Qianlong, Emperor of China, 6th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, dies at 87
- Feb 12 František Xaver Dušek, Czech composer, dies at 67
- Feb 12 Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian physiologist and biologist, dies at 70
- Feb 16 Charles Theodore, German Elector of Bavaria (1742-77), dies at 74
- Feb 18 Maurus Haberhauer, Czech composer, dies at 52
- Feb 19 Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor, dies at 65
Heshen (1750-1799)
Feb 22 Chinese politician and infamous Qing Dynasty court official considered the most corrupt official in Chinese history, commits forced suicide at 48 by hanging himself on the order of the Jiaqing Emperor after he declared Heshen guilty by imperial edict
- Feb 24 Broerius Brorius, theologist (Pensive Christian), dies at about 41
- Feb 24 Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and writer (types of Lichtenberg), dies at 56
- Feb 25 William Dawes, American soldier and patriot who with Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott warned Massachusetts minutemen the regulars are coming before the battles of Lexington and Concord, dies at 53 [1]
- Mar 7 María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa [Mama Antula], Argentine laywoman (Argentina's 1st female saint), dies at 69
- Mar 18 John Randall, British composer, dies at 82
- Mar 25 Constantin Reindl, German composer, dies at 60
- Mar 28 Bendix Friedrich Zinck, Danish organist and composer, dies at 83
- Mar 28 Etta L J "baronne" Palm-Aelders, Dutch adventurer/spy, dies at 55
- Apr 1 Narciso Casanovas, composer, dies at 52
- Apr 17 Richard Jupp, English architect (East India House) (b. 1728)
- Apr 19 Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch violinist, organist (Pembroke College & Chapel of Peterhouse, both in Cambridge, England), teacher, and composer (Glees), dies at 78
- Apr 28 François Giroust, French composer, dies at 62
- May 2 Henri-Joseph Rigel, German composer, dies at 58
Tipu Sultan (1750-1799)
May 4 Indian ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore (1782-99) and pioneer of rocket artillery known as the "Tiger of Mysore", killed by British forces in the Battle of Seringapatam at 48
- May 9 Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, French organist, harpsichordist, and composer, dies at 74
- May 18 Pierre de Beaumarchais, French polymath & dramatist (The Marriage of Figaro, Barber of Seville), dies at 67
- May 26 James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- May 31 Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)
Patrick Henry (1736-1799)
Jun 6 American Revolutionary and Founding Father famous for his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech, dies at 63
- Jun 7 Increase Sumner, American politician (5th Governor of Massachusetts), dies at 52
- Jun 18 Johann Andre, German composer, dies at 58
- Jun 19 Joseph Bologne, French violinist, conductor, composer, and champion fencer, dies at 51
- Jul 7 William Curtis, English botanist and publisher (Botanical Magazine), dies at 53
- Aug 2 Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French inventor (1st hot air balloon), dies at 54
- Aug 5 Richard Howe, British admiral, dies at 73
- Aug 6 Joseph Friebert, Austrian composer, dies at 74
- Aug 7 John Bacon, English sculptor - most successful public sculptor of his time, dies at 58
- Aug 15 Giuseppe Parini, Italian prose writer and poet (Il Giorno), dies at 70
- Aug 16 Vincenzo Manfredini, Italian harpsichordist, composer, and music theorist, dies at 61
- Aug 20 Johann Christian Gottlob Eidenbenz, German composer, dies at 37
Pius VI (1717-1799)
Aug 29 Italian Pope (1775-99), dies at 71
- Aug 31 Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect who introduced Neoclassical architecture to Denmark, dies at 79
- Sep 7 Jan Ingenhousz, Dutch-English physiologist (discovering photosynthesis) and personal physician of Maria Theresa, dies at 68
- Sep 7 Louis Guillaume Lemonnier, French botanist and contributor to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, dies at 82
- Oct 5 Antonio Dinis da Cruz e Silva, Portuguese poet (O Hissope), dies at 68
- Oct 16 Antoine-Frederic Gresnick, Belgian composer, dies at 44
- Oct 23 William Paca, American judge and signer (Declaration of Independence), dies at 58
- Oct 24 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian violinist and composer, dies at 59
- Nov 22 Baroness van Dorth, orangist, executed
- Dec 5 Robert Kimmerling, Austrian composer, dies at 61
- Dec 6 Joseph Black, Scottish chemist and physicist known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat and carbon dioxide, dies at 71
George Washington (1732-1799)
Dec 14 American Founding Father, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during War for Independence and 1st President of the United States (1789-97), dies at 67
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning