(died 1855) Deaths 5 January – John Russell, Duke of Bedford, statesman (born 1710) 21 May – Christopher Smart, poet (born 1722) 8 June – Lord Halifax, statesman (born 1716) 30 July – Thomas Gray, writer (born 1716) 17 September – Tobias Smollett, Scottish-born novelist (born 1721) 6 November – John Bevis, physician and astronomer (born 1695) 15 December – Benjamin Stillingfleet, botanist (born 1702) References Years in Great Britain