Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1858-1889)
Jan 30 Crown Prince of Austria and heir apparent to the Imperial throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, dies at 30 in a suicide pact with his mistress, Mary Freiin von Vetsera, at the Mayerling hunting lodge
- Feb 1 Joseph Gungl, Austro-Hungarian bandmaster and composer of dances and marches, dies at 78
- Feb 3 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley], American outlaw (wild west), murdered at 40
- Feb 12 Andrew Greenwood, English cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 49; Yorkshire CCC), dies from tuberculosis at 41
- Feb 13 João Maurício Wanderley, Brazilian magistrate and politician (b. 1885)
- Feb 26 Karl Davydov, Russian virtuoso cellist, dies at 51
- Mar 3 (Edward) Sydney Smith, British pianist and composer, dies at 49
John Ericsson (1803-1889)
Mar 8 Swedish-American inventor (screw propeller, rotating turret), dies at 85
- Mar 10 Yohannes IV [Kasa], Emperor of Ethiopia (1872-89), dies in battle
- Mar 12 John Archibald Campbell, American jurist and Supreme Court justice (1853–61), dies at 77
- Mar 15 Melville Reuben Bissell, American inventor of the carpet sweeper, dies of pneumonia at 45
- Mar 17 Joseph Alberdingk Thijm, Dutch poet (Dietsche Warande), dies at 68
- Mar 18 William Henry Monk, composer, dies at 66
- Mar 21 August von Pettenkofen, Austrian outdoor painter, dies at 66
- Mar 27 John Bright, English reform politician and anti0war advocate, dies at 77
- Mar 27 Moritz Fürstenau, German composer, dies at 64
- Mar 28 Matilde "Tillie" Ziegler, killed by husband William Kemmler
- Apr 4 Thomas Theodoor Hendrikus Jorissen, Dutch historian, dies at 56
- Apr 6 Frederick Ouseley, British organist, composer (The Martyrdom of St Polycarp), musicologist, and Anglican priest, dies at 63
- Apr 8 Harry Jupp, English cricketer (scored 63 on Test debut for England in 1877), dies at 47
- Apr 9 Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist (b. 1786)
- Apr 13 John Palmer Usher, American Secretary of the Interior under Lincoln during the US Civil War (1863-65), dies at 73
- Apr 15 Father Damien [Joseph de Veuster], Belgian priest and missionary who helped lepers in Hawaii, dies of leprosy at 49
- Apr 19 Warren De La Rue, astronomer/chemist, dies
- Apr 23 Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, French writer and critic, dies at 80
- Apr 30 Carl Rosa, German-born violinist and composer (founder of the Rosa opera company that toured UK and US), dies at 47
- May 9 William S. Harney, American general, dies at 88
- May 10 Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian satirist (b. 1826)
- May 14 Volney E. Howard, American politician, dies at 79
- May 15 Alfred Potocki, Austrian politician (Prime Minister, Governor, Viceroy of Galicia), dies
- May 17 Marie of Prussia, Queen consort of Bavaria (1848-64), dies at 63
- May 17 William Roxby Beverly, artist, dies
- May 18 Isabella Glyn Dallas, Scottish Shakepearean actress, dies at 65
- Jun 8 Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (Windhover), dies at 54
- Jun 15 Mihail Eminesco, Romanian poet (Luceafarul), dies at 39
- Jun 27 Carlotta Patti, Italian soprano, dies at 48
- Jun 27 Whitney Eugene Thayer, American composer, dies at 50
- Jun 28 Maria Mitchell, 1st US woman astronomer (Vassar), dies at 70
- Jun 30 Eugenio Terziani, Italian composer and music director (Teatro Apollo; La Scala), dies at 64
- Jul 4 Auguste Mermet, French opera composer, dies at 79
- Jul 7 Giovanni Bottesini, Italian Romantic composer, conductor and a double bass virtuoso, dies at 67
- Jul 10 Julia Gardiner Tyler, 2nd wife of President John Tyler (1841-45), dies at 69
- Jul 11 Gyula Reviczky, Hungarian author and poet, dies at 34
- Jul 13 Carli Zoeller, German composer, dies at 49
- Jul 13 Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet (b. 1830)
- Jul 16 Michele Amari, Sicilian patriot, Italian revolutionary and historian, dies at 83
- Jul 21 Nelson Dewey, American politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
- Jul 30 Charles Absolom, English cricketer (Test for England), dies in a port accident at 43
- Aug 2 Eduardo Gutiérrez, Argentinian author (Juan Moreira), dies at 38
- Aug 4 Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold, German composer, dies at 75
- Aug 5 Willem Ruys, Dutch ship owner and founder of Rotterdam Lloyd (Nedlloyd), dies at 80
- Aug 17 Ernst Franck, German composer and conductor, dies at 42
- Aug 18 Jacques Damala [Aristides Damalas], Greek military officer and actor, dies from an overdose at 34
- Aug 19 Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (Contes cruels), dies at 60
- Aug 22 John Sanger, British circus entrepreneur, dies (b. 1816)
- Aug 24 Jan Matzeliger, Surinamese-Dutch-American inventor (shoe lasting machine), dies of tuberculosis at 36
- Aug 29 Stefan Dunjov, Banat Bulgarian military figure (b. 1815)
- Sep 12 Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, French historian and sociologist, dies at 59
- Sep 23 [William] Wilkie Collins, English writer (The Moonstone), dies at 65
- Sep 24 Daniel Harvey Hill, Confederate General (American Civil War), dies at 68
- Sep 29 Louis Faidherbe, French general and colonel administrator in Senegal, dies at 71
- Oct 3 Karel Miry, Belgian composer (De Vlaamse Leeuw), dies at 66
- Oct 10 Adolf von Henselt, German composer, dies at 75
- Oct 11 James Prescott Joule, English physicist (the law of conservation of energy), dies at 70
- Oct 15 Edward Aylesworth Perry, American soldier and politician (General under Lee for Confederate Army, 14th Governor of Florida 1885-89), dies of a stroke at 58
- Oct 17 N.G. [Nikolay Gavrilovich] Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher (What Is to Be Done?), dies at 61
- Oct 18 Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (invented a telephone-like device), dies at 81
- Oct 19 Luís I, King of Portugal (1861-89), dies at 50
- Oct 22 Olivier Métra, French composer of balletss, light opera, and popular waltzes (Esperance!), and conductor, dies at 59
- Oct 24 Loisa Puget, French composer, dies at 79
- Oct 30 Alfred E. Jackson "Mudwall", American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 82
- Nov 15 Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat, dies at 88
- Nov 18 William Allingham, Irish poet (Day & Night Songs), dies at 68
- Nov 20 August Ahlqvist, Finnish poet (Suomalainen Runousoppi), dies at 63
- Dec 3 Baltasar Saldoni, Spanish composer and musicologist, dies at 82
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889)
Dec 6 President of the Confederate States of America (1861-65), dies at 81
- Dec 12 Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
- Dec 21 Friedrich August Quenstedt, German geologist and paleontologist, dies at 80
- Dec 21 J. B. Lightfoot, English theologist and bishop of Durham, dies at 61
- Dec 24 Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (b. 1819)
- Dec 31 Ion Creanga, Moldavian-born Romanian fairy tale author (Amintiti the Copilarie) author, dies at 52
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning