- Dec 4 Hynek Vojáček, Czech composer, born in Zlín, Empire of Austria (d. 1916)
- Dec 16 Robert Prescott Stewart, Irish composer, organist, conductor, and teacher, born in Dublin (d. 1894)
- Dec 19 George Frederick Bristow, American composer (Rip Van Winkle), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1898)
- Dec 27 Reinhold Finsterbusch, German singer, organist, composer, and choral director (Jesu Tod und Begräbnis), born in Mittweida, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1902)