- Jan 6 Max Bruch, German composer (Kol Nidre), born in Cologne, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1920)
- Feb 26 Wendelin Weißheimer, German composer and conductor, born in Osthofen, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1910)
- Mar 2 David Duffle Wood, American blind composer (organist and choir master St. Stephen's Episcopal Church), born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1910)
- Mar 4 Paul Lacôme, French composer, born in Le Houga, France (d. 1920)
- Mar 15 Karl Davydov, Russian cellist, and composer, born in Goldingen, Russian Empire (d. 1889)
- Apr 11 Joseph Leopold Röckel, German composer, born in London (d. 1908)
- Apr 16 Karel Bendl, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1897)
- May 6 Alfred Pease, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1882)
- Jul 23 Édouard Colonne, French composer and violinist, born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1910)
- Aug 12 Joseph Barnby, British conductor, composer, and music educator, born in York, England (d. 1896)
- Oct 22 Carl Fuchs, German composer and musician, born in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1922)
- Nov 22 José Augusto Ferreira Veiga, Viscount of Arneiro, Portuguese composer, born in Portuguese Macau (d. 1903)
- Dec 4 Melesio Morales, Mexican composer, born in Mexico City (d. 1908)
- Dec 11 Whitney Eugene Thayer, American composer, born in Mendon, Massachusetts (d. 1889)
- Dec 13 Alexis de Castillon, French composer, born in Chartres, France (d. 1873)
- Dec 17 Berthold Tours, Dutch-English composer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1897)
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