• Monarch – Christian IX^[1]
• Prime minister – Christian Albrecht Bluhme (until 6 November), C. E. Frijs

• 6 April – Hans Christian Andersens romantic comedy When the Spaniards Were Here premiers at the Royal Danish Theatre.
• 31 May – 14 June – It is possible for the public to see Constantin Hansen's monumental painting of The Danish Constituent Assembly in Alfred Hage's home in the Harsdorff House on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The entrance fee goes to veterans of the Second Schleswig War.
• 17 June – A fire breaks out in the eastern part of Nørresundby and ends up destroying much of the town.
• 2–7 September – A deputation from Sleswig visits Copenhagen.

• 9 June – Carl Nielsen, composer (died 1931)

Undated edit

• Pauline Schmidt, magician

• 7 April – Carl Dahl, painter (born 1812)
• 16 May – Anne Marie Mangor, cookbook writer (born 1781)
• 21 May – Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, archaeologist and arts administrator (born 1788)
• 16 September – Christian de Meza, commander of the Danish Army (born 1792)
• 14 December – Johan Georg Forchhammer, mineralogist and geologist (born 1794)