Famous People Who Died In 1784

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1784. This list includes people like Samuel Johnson, Phillis Wheatley, Denis Diderot, Junípero Serra, Caesar Rodney and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include poets, spiritual & religious leaders, priests and educators who died in 1784. This list includes people from France, United States and many more countries.
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 1 
Samuel Johnson
3
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: September 18, 1709
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Lichfield, England
Died: December 13

Essayist, biographer, lexicographer, and literary critic Samuel Johnson, or Dr. Johnson, is remembered for his A Dictionary of the English Language and Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. He was also a poet, a playwright, and a staunch Tory. His mannerisms indicated he had Tourette syndrome.

 2 
Phillis Wheatley
35
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 8, 1753
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: West Africa
Died: December 5
 3 
Junípero Serra
(Spanish Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary of the Franciscan Order)
Junípero Serra
13
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: November 24, 1713
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Petra, Spain
Died: August 28

Junípero Serra was a Roman Catholic priest who is credited with founding the Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda. He is also credited with founding nine of the 21 Spanish missions in California. On 25 September 1988, Junípero Serra was beatified in the Vatican City by Pope John Paul II. On 23 September 2015, he was canonized by Pope Francis.

 4 
Denis Diderot
(French Philosopher, Co-Founder and Chief Editor of the ‘Encyclopédie’)
Denis Diderot
6
Birthdate: October 5, 1713
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Langres, France
Died: July 31

Denis Diderot revolutionized the Age of Enlightenment as the co-founder of Encyclopédie, which was banned for questioning religion. He had flirted with the idea of joining the theater and becoming a priest, and even studied law, but later devoted himself to languages, literature, and philosophy.

 5 
Count of St. Germain
(European Adventurer and Philosopher)
Count of St. Germain
1
Birthdate: 1691 AD
Birthplace: Sárospatak, Hungary
Died: February 27

Known as The Wonderman, 18th-century French adventurer Comte de Saint-Germain was also a talented musician, especially skilled in the violin, and a well-known chemist. Not only was he proficient in almost all European languages, he had traveled to places such as Russia, the Dutch Republic, and Germany.

 6 
Caesar Rodney
(Governor of Delaware (1778-81))
Caesar Rodney
8
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: October 7, 1728
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Kent County
Died: June 26
 7 
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
(Composer)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: November 22, 1710
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Weimar, Germany
Died: July 1
 8 
Torbern Bergman
(Swedish Chemist and Mineralogist Known for His Research on the Chemistry of Metals, Especially 'Bismut'h and 'Nickel')
Torbern Bergman
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: March 20, 1735
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Katrineberg, Låstad parish, Sweden
Died: July 8

Torbern Olof Bergman was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist. He is best remembered for his 1775 work Dissertation on Elective Attractions, which contains the largest chemical affinity tables. He also contributed immensely to the development of quantitative analysis. Torbern Olof Bergman also taught physics and mathematics at the University of Uppsala.

 9 
Ann Lee
(American Religious Leader)
Ann Lee
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 29, 1736
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Manchester, England
Died: September 8

Ann Lee is remembered as the founder of the Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers, for their ritual of shaking during worshipping. Born to a blacksmith in England, she initially worked at a textile mill and later ushered her movement into the U.S.

 10 
Yosa Buson
(Japanese Poet and Painter of the Edo Period)
Yosa Buson
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 1716 AD
Birthplace: Settsu Province, Japan
Died: January 17

Though born into an affluent Japanese family, Yosa Buson renounced his wealth and traveled far and wide to master painting and the art of haiku. His poetic experiments included mingling Chinese and Japanese poetry. He played a major role in popularizing the Nan-ga style of Japanese painting.

 11 
César-François Cassini de Thury
(French Astronomer Who Produced the First Reliable Maps of France)
César-François Cassini de Thury
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: June 17, 1714
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Thury-sous-Clermont, France
Died: September 4

French astronomer and surveyor César-François Cassini de Thury followed in his father Jacques Cassini’s footsteps to create an authentic topographical map of France. His Carte de Cassini was the first map which charted an entire country based on its topography. He had also been the director of the Paris Observatory.

 12 
Santa Rita Durão
(Brazilian Poet and Priest)
Santa Rita Durão
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 1722 AD
Birthplace: Mariana, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died: January 24

José de Santa Rita Durão was a Colonial Brazilian Neoclassic poet and orator. He was also an Augustinian friar. He composed the epic poem Caramuru. He studied at the University of Coimbra and began an academic career. He was persecuted during the reign of the Marquis of Pombal and went to exile in Rome. 

 13 
Raja Haji
(Indonesian Warrior and Freedom Fighter)
Raja Haji
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1727 AD
Birthplace: Riau, Indonesia
Died: 1784 AD

Raja Haji was a Bugis warrior and crown prince of the Johor-Riau Sultanate. An important freedom fighter, Raja Haji spearheaded a number of raids on a Dutch fortress in Melacca before he was shot dead by the Dutch forces. His bravery was later commemorated by the Indonesian government with a National Hero of Indonesia title.

 14 
Nano Nagle
(Educator)
Nano Nagle
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1718 AD
Birthplace: Ballygriffin, County Cork, Ireland
Died: April 26
 15 
Anthony Benezet
(Educator)
Anthony Benezet
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 31, 1713
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Saint-Quentin, France
Died: May 3
 16 
Paolo Frisi
(Italian Mathematician and Astronomer Best Known for His Work in Hydraulics)
Paolo Frisi
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: April 13, 1728
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Melegnano, Italy
Died: November 22

Italian physicist, mathematician, and astronomer Paolo Frisi is best remembered for his work on hydraulics, expressed through his books such as A Treatise on Rivers and Torrents. His interpretation of the works of eminent scientists such as Galileo and Newton, too, are considered immensely valuable to the scientific community.

 17 
Abraham Trembley
(Naturalist)
Abraham Trembley
0
Birthdate: September 3, 1710
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Died: May 12
 18 
Jacob Joseph of Polonne
(Rabbi)
Jacob Joseph of Polonne
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 1710 AD
Birthplace: Poland
Died: 1784 AD

Jacob Joseph of Polonne was a rabbi and one of the first disciples of the founder of Hasidic Judaism, the Baal Shem Tov. He was already an accomplished scholar of the school of Lurianic Kabbalah when he became associated with Tov. In his teachings, he addressed the question regarding the dual requirement in Judaism to both love and fear God.

 19 
Franciszek Bohomolec
(Dramatist)
Franciszek Bohomolec
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 29, 1720
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: near Vitsyebsk, Belarus
Died: April 24
 20 
Antoine Court de Gébelin
(Pastor)
Antoine Court de Gébelin
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1719 AD
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 10
 21 
Giovanni Battista Martini
(Musician)
Giovanni Battista Martini
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: April 24, 1706
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: August 3
 22 
Nathaniel Hone the Elder
(Miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768)
Nathaniel Hone the Elder
1
Birthdate: April 24, 1718
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dublin
Died: August 14

Apart co-establishing the Royal Academy, Nathaniel Hone the Elder made a name for himself as a master painter of miniatures and portraits. Born into a Dutch family in Dublin, he spent most of his professional life in London. His controversial painting The Conjurer was viewed as an attack on Sir Joshua Reynolds.