* 1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English author ( d. 1859 )

* 1785 – William Whitehead, English writer ( b. 1715 )

Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English Channel in one in 1785.

The first outside the English Midlands was established in Leeds in 1785.

First attested in English in 1785, the word camelopardalis comes from the Latin, and it is the romanisation of the Greek " καμηλοπάρδαλις " meaning " giraffe ", from " κάμηλος " ( kamēlos ), " camel " + " πάρδαλις " ( pardalis ), " leopard ", due to its having a long neck like a camel and spots like a leopard.

* 1696 – James Oglethorpe, English general and founder of the state of Georgia ( d. 1785 )

* 1785 – William Jackson Hooker, English botanist ( d. 1865 )

* 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight ( 1783 ), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.

* 1873 – George Ormerod, English historian and antiquarian ( b. 1785 )

* August 12 – William Jackson Hooker, English botanist ( b. 1785 )

* December 8 – Thomas de Quincey, English writer ( b. 1785 )

* January 23 – Thomas Love Peacock, English satirist ( b. 1785 )

* October 9 – George Ormerod, English historian and antiquarian ( b. 1785 )

* March 23 – George Pinto English composer ( b. 1785 )

* April 9 – William Prout, English chemist and physician ( b. 1785 )

* December 22 – James Oglethorpe, English general and founder of the state of Georgia as a colony ( d. 1785 )

In 1785, the English poet William Cowper wrote:

Hydrogen balloons were used for all subsequent major ballooning accomplishments, such as the crossing of the English Channel on 7 January 1785 by the Franco-American aviators Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries.

As early as March 1785, Lapérouse proposed that Paul Monneron, who had been chosen as the expedition's chief engineer, go to London to find out about the latest conclusions on the anti-scurvy measures recommended by Cook and the exchange items used by Cook in his dealings with the native peoples, and to buy scientific instruments of English manufacture.

In 1785, the Russian government of Catherine II commissioned a new expedition in search for the Northeast Passage, led by English officer Joseph Billings, who had previously sailed with Captain Cook, and the Russian officer Gavril Sarychev as his deputy.

Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English Channel in one in 1785.

* Thomas de Quincey ( 1785 – 1859 ), author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater ( 1822 ), lived in Lasswade from 1840 until his death in 1859.

* George Smith ( Nottingham cricketer ) ( 1785 – 1838 ), English cricketer

The word corset came into general use in the English language in 1785.

She was the oldest daughter of John Dandridge ( 1700 – 1756 ), a Virginia planter and English immigrant, and Frances Jones ( 1710 – 1785 ) of English and Welsh descent.

Cowper is best known, not just for his contribution to the Olney Hymns, but as a poet, letter-writer, and translator: his works include The Diverting History of John Gilpin ( 1782 ), The Task ( 1785 ) and his translation of Homer, published in 1791.

* October 6 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian poet ( d. 1785 )

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni (; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873 ) was an Italian poet and novelist.

* Johan Herman Wessel ( 1742 – 1785 ): poet

Johan Herman Wessel ( 6 October 1742, Vestby – 29 December 1785, Copenhagen ) was a Norwegian-Danish poet.

* May 22-Alessandro Manzoni, poet and novelist ( born 1785 )

* May 27-Pierre-Antoine Lebrun, poet ( born 1785 )

* April 3-John Wilson, poet and journalist ( born 1785 )

* October 19-Henry Kirke White, poet ( born 1785 )

* Alessandro Manzoni ( 1785 – 1873 ), poet and novelist, author of I promessi sposi, belonged to an old family of Lecco.

* Epitaph for James Smith, a 1785 satirical Scots epitaph written by poet Robert Burns

Richard Glover ( 1712 – 25 November 1785 ) was an English poet and politician.

William Whitehead ( baptized 12 February 1715 – 14 April 1785 ) was an English poet and playwright.

Count Gustaf Philip Creutz ( 1 May 1731 in Anjala, now a part of Kouvola – 30 October 1785 in Stockholm ), was a Swedish statesman, diplomat and poet.

John Pierpont ( April 6, 1785 – August 27, 1866 ) was an American poet, who was also successively a teacher, lawyer, merchant, and Unitarian minister.

* Philippe-Alexandre Le Brun de Charmettes ( 1785 – 1870 ), French historian, poet, and official

Arvid August Afzelius (; October 8, 1785, Fjällåkra – September 25, 1871, Enköping ) was a Swedish pastor, poet, historian and mythologist.

A volume of verses, lyrical and pastoral, published in 1785, caused Meléndez Valdés to be hailed as the first Spanish poet of his time.

* Pierre-Antoine Lebrun ( 1785 – 1873 ), French poet