- Jan 9 Noble Wimberly Jones, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
- Jan 17 Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, French scholar and interpreter, dies at 73
- Jan 19 Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier, German composer, dies at 43
- Jan 23 Claude Chappe, French engineer and telecommunications pioneer (optical telegraph), commits suicide at 41
- Jan 23 Vaclav Pichl, Czech composer, dies at 63
- Jan 24 Giacomo Conti, Italian composer, dies at 50
- Feb 25 Thomas Pownall, British colonial statesman (b. 1722)
- Feb 27 Stefan Paluselli, Austrian choirmaster, composer, and monk, dies at 57
- Mar 4 Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter, dies at 79
- Mar 14 Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, Russian general (b. 1753)
- Apr 6 Lorenz Justinian Ott, German composer, dies at 56
- Apr 25 Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison, French classical scholar and ancient manuscript hunter (discovered 10th-century manuscript of the Iliad— codex Venetus), dies at 55
- Apr 26 Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison, French classical scholar (Anecdota Graeca), dies at 55
William Petty (1737-1805)
May 7 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1782-83), dies at 68
- May 9 Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German poet and playwright, dies at 45
- May 16 Christiaan Brunings, Dutch hydraulic engineer, dies at 68
- May 25 William Paley, English philosopher and theologian (Natural Theology), dies at 61
- May 28 Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (Minuet), dies at 62
- Jun 19 Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter (b. 1724)
- Jul 1 Georg Ritschel, German composer, dies at 60
- Jul 9 Georg Panzer, German vicar and librarian, dies at 76
- Jul 31 Dheera Chinnamalai, Indian Polygar (governor) and freedom fighter, executed by the British at 49
- Aug 1 Friedrich Christoph Gebtewitz, German composer, dies at 51
- Aug 3 Christopher Anstey, English poet (The New Bath Guide), dies at 80
- Aug 28 Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (Moderator of the General Assembly 1770), dies at 83
- Aug 31 Joseph Abaco, Italian composer, dies at 95
Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805)
Oct 5 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general and colonial administrator (leading British general in the American War of Independence), dies of fever at 66
- Oct 13 Johann Christoph Kuhnau, German composer, church musician choral director, and teacher, dies at 70
Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)
Oct 21 British admiral and war hero, dies in Battle of Trafalgar at 47
- Oct 21 Johann Baptist Lasser, German singer and composer, dies at 54
- Nov 6 François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud, French sentimental writer (Les Épreuves du sentiment), dies at 87
- Nov 8 Francois-Thomas de Baculard d'Arnaud, French writer, dies at 87
- Dec 10 Friedrich Franz Hůrka, Bohemian operatic tenor, conductor, and composer, dies at 43
- Dec 23 Francis Masson, Scottish botanist (1st plant hunter for Kew Gardens, in South Africa), dies at 64
- Dec 23 Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
- Dec 27 Belle van Zuylen, Dutch-Swiss writer (Trois Femmes), dies at 65
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning