- Jan 3 Konstantin Ushinsky, Russian educationalist (credited as the founder of scientific pedagogy in Russia), dies at 46
- Jan 7 Carl Schwencke, German pianist and composer, dies at 72
- Jan 11 Adolf Ganz, German composer and violinist, dies at 73
- Jan 17 Alexander Anderson, American engraver and illustrator (Shakespeare), dies at 94
- Jan 21 Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
- Jan 26 Cesare Pugni, Italian composer, dies at 67
- Jan 26 Victor de Broglie, 3rd Duke of Broglie, 14th Prime Minister of France (1835-36), dies at 84
- Jan 29 Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, dies at 72
- Feb 11 Jacob de Kempenaer, Dutch lawyer and Minister of Internal Affairs (1848-49), dies at 76
- Feb 11 Leopold Eugen Mechura, Czech composer, dies at 66
- Feb 14 St. John Richardson Liddell, American Civil War Confederate General, dies at 54
- Feb 26 Wyatt Outlaw, African American Town Councillor and Constable, leader of Union League in NC, lynched by the Ku Klux Klan at about 50
Francisco Solano López (1826-1870)
Mar 1 President and Dictator of Paraguay (1862-70), shouts "¡Muero con mi patria!" (I die with my nation) and dies in a struggle with Brazilian soldiers attempting to disarm him at 43
- Mar 9 Theodore Labarre, French composer and harpist, dies at 65
- Mar 10 (Isaac) Ignaz Moscheles, Bohemian piano virtuoso, friend of Beethoven, teacher of Mendelssohn, conductor, and composer, dies at 75 [1]
- Mar 11 Moshoeshoe I, King of Lesotho (1822-70), dies at about 47
- Mar 18 Joaquin Gaztambide, Spanish composer (Una vieja), dies at 48
- Mar 28 George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
- Apr 1 Patrick Gass, American soldier and sergeant of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, dies at 98
- Apr 4 Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
- Apr 8 Charles-Auguste de Beriot, Belgian violinist and composer, dies at 68
- Apr 15 Emma Willard, American women's rights activist and educator who founded the 1st school for women's higher education in the US, dies at 83
- Apr 16 Anatoli O Demidov, Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies
- Apr 16 Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry and Italian princess of the House of Bourbon who led an unsuccessful rebellion against French King Louis-Philippe I, dies at 71
- Apr 19 Andreas Schelfhout, Dutch landscape painter, etcher and lithographer, dies at 83
- Apr 19 Camille Marie Stamaty, French pianist, composer, and teacher of Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Camille Saint-Saëns, dies at 59
- Apr 19 William Henry Havergal, composer, dies at 77
- May 6 James Young Simpson, Scottish obstetrician who popularized chloroform for medicinal use, dies at 58
- May 14 Ramon Vilanova y Barrera, Catalan composer and choirmaster, dies at 69
- May 30 Gustave Vogt, French composer, dies at 89
- Jun 8 Johann Gottlob Topfer, German composer, dies at 78
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Jun 9 English writer (Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol), dies of stroke at 58
- Jun 9 Erik Drake, Swedish composer (Royal Swedish Academy of Music), dies at 82
- Jun 20 Jules de Goncourt, French writer, wrote with his brother Edmond de Goncourt, dies at 39
- Jul 8 Jan David Zocher Jr., Dutch landscape architect (Soestdijk Palace), dies at 79
- Jul 22 Josef Strauss, Austrian composer (Dynamids), dies at 42
- Jul 25 Pierre Dupont, French songwriter ("Les Bœufs"; "Le Chant du pain"), dies at 49
David Farragut (1801-1870)
Aug 14 American Admiral ("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"), dies at 69
- Aug 16 Edmund Passy, Swedish composer, dies at 80
- Aug 18 Felix Salm-Salm, Prussian/US prince/brigadier general, dies in battle
- Aug 21 Ma Xinyi Viceroy of Liangjiang of the late Qing Dynasty in China (b. 1821)
- Aug 24 Edwin Gray Lee, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 34
- Sep 2 Arthur Saint-Leon, French composer and dancer, dies at 48
- Sep 11 Eugenio Lucas y Padilla, Spanish poet, dies at about 46
- Sep 12 Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (The Hasheesh Eater), dies at 34
- Sep 23 Prosper Mérimée, French author (Carmen), dies at 66
- Sep 27 Henry TP Comstock, Canadian silver prospector, dies at 50
Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)
Oct 12 American General who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War, dies of pneumonia at 63
- Oct 20 Michael William Balfe, Irish violinist and composer (The Bohemian Girl), dies at 62
- Oct 26 Joseph Saxton, American inventor, watchmaker, and photographer, dies at 74
- Oct 31 Mihály Mosonyi, Hungarian composer, dies at 55
- Nov 21 Karel Jaromír Erben, Czech poet (Ruiker), dies at 69
- Nov 24 Comte de Lautréamont, French writer (Les Chants de Maldoror), dies at 24
- Nov 28 Frédéric Bazille, French painter, dies at 28
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)
Dec 5 French author (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo), dies at 68
- Dec 5 David G. Burnet, interim president of the Republic of Texas, dies at 82
- Dec 7 Mykhailo Verbytsky, Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and composer (Prostachka; The State Anthem of Ukraine), dies at 55
- Dec 8 Thomas Brassey, English civil engineering contractor, dies at 65
- Dec 16 Stanisław Duniecki, Polish composer, dies at 31
- Dec 17 Saverio Mercadante, Italian composer, dies at 75
- Dec 28 Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov, Russian composer, dies at 72
- Dec 28 Peter van Schendel, Dutch-Belgian painter (Monsieur Chandelle), dies at 64
- Dec 30 Juan Prim, Spanish general and politician (Prime Minister, 1869-70), assassinated at 56
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide