- Jan 10 Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet (b. 1792)
- Jan 15 M T d'Azeglio, writer, dies
- Jan 23 Thomas Love Peacock, English satirical writer (headlong Hill), dies at 80
- Jan 27 John Gibson, British sculptor (Sir Robert Peel statue at Westminster Abbey), dies at 75
- Feb 3 François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian poet and historian (b. 1809)
- Feb 21 Stephen Elliott, Jr., Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 35
- Mar 4 Alexander Campbell, Irish-American clergyman and Founder of Disciples of Christ, dies at 77
- Mar 4 Félix Danjou, French church organist, arranger, music teacher, organ builder, and political journalist, dies at 53
- Mar 6 William Whewell, English polymath and philosopher (History of Inductive Science), dies at 71
- Mar 10 Antonio Francesco Gaetano S Pacini, Italian-French composer and music publisher, dies at 87
- Mar 19 Louis Clapisson, French composer and violinist, dies at 57
- Mar 20 Rikard Nordraak, Norwegian composer, dies at 23
- Mar 24 Maria Amalia, of Bourbon-Sicily, French queen as wife of Louis Philip of Austria, dies at 83
- Mar 28 Solomon Foot, American politician (U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1851-66) and attorney, dies at 63
- Mar 29 Baron Floris van Hall, Dutch nobleman and politician (Prime Minister 1853-56, and 1860-61), dies at 74
- Mar 29 Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, Rabbi/Chassidic leader, dies
- Apr 1 Aime Ambroise Simon Leborne, composer, dies at 98
- Apr 1 Johannes C H de Meijere, Dutch zoologist, dies
- Apr 15 William Jackson, British organist and composer, dies at 51
- May 13 Nikolai Brashman, Russian mathematician, dies at 69
- May 17 Adolf Bernhard Marx [Samuel Moses Marx], German music theorist and pedagogue, dies at 71
- May 29 Henry Darwin Rogers, American Geologist (theory of mountain building, first geological mapping of Pennsylvania), dies at 57
- May 29 Winfield Scott, American army general (Union) and presidential candidate, dies at 79
- Jun 5 John McDouall Stuart, Australian explorer, dies at 50
- Jun 7 Chief Seattle, Suquamish and Duwamish Native American chief who pursued a path of accommodation with white settlers and for who the city of Seattle is named after, dies at 85 or 86
- Jun 8 Wilhelm Schirmer, German landscape artist, dies at 64
- Jun 16 Joseph Méry French poet (b. 1798)
- Jun 17 Lewis Cass, American military officer and politician (U.S. Senator-Michigan), dies at 83
- Jun 18 Jacob Abels, Dutch painter, dies at 62
- Jun 23 Samuel Sarphati, Amsterdam physician pharmacist and social activist in Amsterdam, dies at 53
- Jun 25 Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish zoologist, dies at 63
- Jul 11 James Henry Lane, US General during Civil War (Union) and Senator (Kansas), commits suicide at 52
- Jul 20 Berhard Riemann, German mathematician (zeta-function), dies at 39
- Jul 20 Emilio Faà di Bruno, Italian naval captain, goes down with his ship (Re d'italia) in the Battle of Lissa at 46
- Jul 23 Thomas Forbes Walmisley, English composer, dies at 83
- Jul 25 Aloys Schmitt, German pianist, composer and music theorist (Preparatory Exercises, Op. 16), dies at 77
- Aug 1 John Ross [Guwisguwi], Cherokee leader (Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, 1828-66), dies at 75
- Aug 6 John Mason Neale, English divine, scholar and hymnwriter (b. 1818)
- Aug 22 George Shillibeer, pioneer of London's 1st bus service, dies
- Sep 3 Konstantin Flavitsky, Russian painter (b. 1830)
- Sep 9 Gergely Czuczor, Hungarian-Czech poet and translator (Great Hung dictionary), dies at 65
- Sep 18 Young Marshall Moody, American Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, dies of yellow fever at 44
- Sep 26 Carl Almqvist, Swedish author (Amorina), dies at 72
- Oct 26 John Kinder Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer (Labatt Brewing Company) (b. 1803)
- Nov 21 Amable-Guillaume-Prosper Brugière, French politician and historian, dies at 84
- Nov 26 Adrien-François Servais, Belgian composer, dies at 59
- Nov 26 Carl Jonas Love Almquist, Swedish composer (Tornrosens Buck), dies at 72
- Dec 1 George Everest, Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest, dies at 76
- Dec 3 Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda [Jan Kalivoda], Bohemian violinist, composer, and court conductor, dies of a heart attack at 65
- Dec 26 Samuel Ryan Curtis, Union general-major, dies at 49
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide