Events from the year 1878 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Incumbents

National level

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

–

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

–

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

State level

Kingdoms

King of Bavaria The King of Bavaria () was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a t ...

–

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duk ...

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

– William I *

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast ...

–

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

King of Württemberg King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

–

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Grand Duchies

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a margravi ...

–

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

Grand Duke of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

– Louis IV *

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin This list of dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg dates from the origins of the Germany, German princely state of Mecklenburg's royal house in the High Middle Ages to the monarchy's abolition at the end of World War I. Strictly speaking, Mecklen ...

–

Frederick Francis II Frederick Francis II ( German: ''Friedrich Franz II;'' 28 February 1823 – 15 April 1883) was a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the ...

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a territory in Northern Germany, held by the younger line of the House of Mecklenburg residing in Neustrelitz. Like the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, it was a sovereign member state ...

–

Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty: * Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688) * Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713) * Frederick William I of ...

Grand Duke of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst This is a list of the counts, dukes, grand dukes, and prime ministers of Oldenburg. Counts of Oldenburg * 1088/1101–1108 Elimar I * 1108–1143 ...

– Peter II *

Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolution of ...

– Charles Alexander

Principalities

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...

–

Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe Adolphus I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (''Adolf Georg''; 1 August 1817 – 8 May 1893) was a ruler of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. Biography He was born in Bückeburg to Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and his wife, Princes ...

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

–

George Albert, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Georg Albert, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (23 November 1838 – 19 January 1890) was the penultimate sovereign prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Biography He was born in Rudolstadt the son of Prince Albert of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and h ...

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

– Gonthier Frederick Charles II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen *

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

– Woldemar, Prince of Lippe *

Reuss Elder Line The Principality of Reuss-Greiz (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line () after 1848, was a state in the German Empire, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. The Counts Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz and Upper-Greiz () we ...

– Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz *

Reuss Younger Line The Principality of Reuss-Gera (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line () after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. It was one of the successor states of the Imperial Cou ...

– Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line *

Waldeck and Pyrmont The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and ...

––

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George Victor (14 January 1831 – 12 May 1893) was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont. George Victor was born in Bad Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of ...

Duchies

* Duke of Anhalt –

Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt Frederick I () (29 April 1831 – 24 January 1904) was a German prince of the house of Ascania who ruled the Duchy of Anhalt from 1871 to 1904. Early life Frederick was born in Dessau in 1831 as the third child and only son of Leopold IV, Du ...

Duke of Brunswick Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

–

William, Duke of Brunswick William, Duke of Brunswick (; 25 April 1806 – 18 October 1884), was ruling duke of the Duchy of Brunswick from 1830 until his death. William was the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and after the death of his fath ...

Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a populati ...

– Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg *

Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...

– Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha *

Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...

–

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (2 April 1826 – 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the ''Theaterherzog'' (theatre duke ...

Events

13 July Events Pre-1600 * 1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. *1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. * 1260 – The Liv ...

–

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

– Treaty of Berlin Phillips, Walter Alison (1911). "Berlin § Berlin, Congress and Treaty of" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 790–791. *

30 July Events Pre-1600 * 762 – Baghdad is founded. * 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council. * 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Is ...

– German federal election, 1878 * 19 October – First Anti-Socialist law passed by the German Reichstag

Births

4 January Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1642 – En ...

– Gerdt von Bassewitz, German playwright and actor (died

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

) *

16 March Events Pre-1600 *1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. *1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse to recant are burnt to death after the Fall of Montségur. *1355 – Amidst the Red Turban Rebellions, Han Lin'er, a cla ...

–

Clemens August Graf von Galen Clemens Augustinus Emmanuel Joseph Pius Anthonius Hubertus Marie Graf von Galen (16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946), better known as ''Clemens August Graf von Galen'', was a German count, Bishop of Münster, and cardinal of the Catholic Churc ...

, German bishop of Roman-Catholic Church (died

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

) *

1 April Events Pre-1600 * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. * 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his troo ...

–

Carl Sternheim Carl Sternheim (born William Adolph Carl Francke; 1 April 1878 – 3 November 1942) was a German playwright and short story writer. One of the major exponents of German Expressionism, he especially satirized the moral sensibilities of the emer ...

, German playwright and short story writer (died

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

) *

6 April Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. *132 ...

–

Erich Mühsam Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German Antimilitarism, antimilitarist anarchism, anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a Federalism, federated Bavari ...

, German poet and playwright (died

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) *

21 April Events Pre-1600 *753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date). *43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered s ...

–

Albert Weisgerber Albert Weisgerber (21 April 1878 – 10 May 1915) was a German painter whose work forms a bridge between Impressionism and early Expressionism. Biography He was born in Sankt Ingbert. From 1897 to 1901 he studied at the Munich Art Academy u ...

, German painter (died

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

) *

10 May Events Pre-1600 *28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. *1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edwar ...

–

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman during the Weimar Republic who served as Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany from August to November 1 ...

1923, Foreign Minister 1923–29, Nobel laureate (died

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) * 30 May –

Hermine Körner Hermine Körner (30 May 1878 in Berlin - 14 December 1960) was a German actress, director and theater manager. Early life Körner was the fifth child of teacher and zoologist William Stader and Emilie Luyken. The father departed in 1880 on a lect ...

, German actress (died

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

) * 4 June –

Ludwig Dürr Ludwig Ferdinand Dürr (4 June 1878 in Stuttgart – 1 January 1956 in Friedrichshafen) was a German airship designer. Life and career After completing training as a mechanic, Dürr continued his training at the Königliche Baugewerkschule (Ro ...

, German

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

designer (died

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

) * 10 July – Otto Freundlich, German painter, sculptor (died

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

) *

16 July Events Pre-1600 * 622 – The Hijrah of Muhammad begins, marking the beginning of the Islamic calendar. * 997 – Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouran ...

– Andreas Hermes, German politician (died

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

) * 26 July –

Ernst Hoppenberg Ernst Heinrich Hoppenberg (26 July 1878 – 29 September 1937) was a German swimmer and water polo player who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 metre events. He participated in Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympi ...

, German swimmer (died

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

) *

10 August Events Pre-1600 * 654 – Pope Eugene I elected to succeed Martinus I. * 955 – Battle of Lechfeld: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor defeats the Magyars, ending 50 years of Magyar invasion of the West. * 991 – Battle of Maldon: The ...

–

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

, German novelist, essayist and writer (died

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

) *

13 August Events Pre-1600 *29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. * 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas. * 554 – Empe ...

–

Arthur Biram Arthur Yitzhak Biram (Hebrew: ארתור בירם; August 13, 1878 – June 5, 1967) was a German-born Israeli philosopher, philologist, and educator. He was the founder of the Reali School in Haifa. Biography Arthur Biram was born in Bis ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i philosopher, philologist, and educator (died

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

) *

17 August Events Pre-1600 * 310 – Pope Eusebius dies, possibly from a hunger strike, shortly after being banished by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicily. * 682 – Pope Leo II begins his pontificate. * 986 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battl ...

–

Paul Troost Paul Ludwig Troost (17 August 1878 – 21 January 1934) was a German architect. A favourite master builder of Adolf Hitler from 1930, his Neoclassical designs for the '' Führerbau'', the ''Verwaltungsbau der NSDAP'' and the '' Haus der Kunst'' ...

, German architect (died

) *

2 September Events Pre-1600 *44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. * 44 BC – Cicero launches the first of his ''Philippicae'' (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them ...

–

Werner von Blomberg Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German general and politician who served as the first Minister of War in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1938. Blomberg had served as Chief of the ''Truppenamt'', equivalent ...

, German Minister of War, and Commander-in-Chief of the German Armed Forces (died

) *

16 September Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Pope Honorius I is posthumously excommunicated by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. *1400 – Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers. 1601–1900 * 1620 – Pilgrims set sail for V ...

–

Karl Albiker Karl Albiker (16 September 1878 – 26 February 1961) was a German sculptor, lithographer and teacher of fine arts. Albiker studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris. From 1919 to 1945 he was a professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. His monum ...

, German sculptor (died

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

) *

26 September Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus. * 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne. * 1087 – William II is c ...

–

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (26 September 1878 – 24 April 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, the Weimar Republic's armed forces. He is regarded as "an ...

, German general (died

) * 29 October –

Alexander von Falkenhausen Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen (29 October 187831 July 1966) was a German general and military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. He was an important figure during the Sino-German cooperation to reform the Chinese army. In ...

, German general (died

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

) *

30 October Events Pre-1600 * 637 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Antioch surrenders to the Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of the Iron Bridge. * 758 – Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates. * 1137 – Ranulf of Apulia defeats Rog ...

–

Arthur Scherbius Arthur Scherbius (30 October 1878 – 13 May 1929) was a German electrical engineer who invented the mechanical cipher Enigma machine. He patented the invention and later sold the machine under the brand name Enigma. Scherbius offered une ...

, German electrical engineer (died

) * 21 November –

Gustav Radbruch Gustav Radbruch (; 21 November 1878 – 23 November 1949) was a German legal scholar and politician. He served as Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany), Minister of Justice of Germany during the early Weimar Republic, Weimar period. Radbruch is ...

, German legal scholar and politician (died

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

) * 15 December – Hans Carossa, German novelist (died

) * 30 December – Rudolf Petersen, German politician (died

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

)

Deaths

8 March Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem '' Shahnameh''. * 1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between ...

–

Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel (; September 27, 1820March 8, 1878), German classical scholar, was born at Ludwigsburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1849 he was appointed extraordinary, in 1857 ordinary professor in the university of Tübingen, whic ...

, German classical scholar (born

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament to meet on March 7, becoming the nominal beginning of the "Trienio Liberal" in History of Spain (1 ...

) *

20 March Events Pre-1600 *1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. *1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly behead ...

–

Julius von Mayer Julius Robert von Mayer (25 November 1814 – 20 March 1878) was a German physician, chemist, and physicist and one of the founders of thermodynamics. He is best known for enunciating in 1841 one of the original statements of the conservation ...

, German physician and physicist (born

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French gar ...

) *

23 March Events Pre-1600 *1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official. *1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last rel ...

–

Ernst Keil Ernst Victor Keil (6 December 1816 – 23 March 1878) was a Germans, German bookseller, journalist, editor and publisher. His early publications promoted liberal views and satirized famous politicians leading up to the German revolutions of 1848� ...

, German journalist and publisher (born

1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in some locati ...

) *

25 May Events Pre-1600 *567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. *240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo ...

– Andreas von Ettingshausen, German mathematician and physicist (born

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital of Upper Can ...

) *

12 June Events Pre-1600 * 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors. *1206 – The Ghurid general Qutb ud-Din Aibak ...

–

George V of Hanover George V (Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August; 27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878) was the last King of Hanover, reigning from 18 November 1851 to 20 September 1866. The only child of King Ernest Augustus and Queen Frederica, he succeeded ...

, last King of Hanover (born

1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...

) * 12 September –

Friedrich August von Alberti Friedrich August von Alberti (September 4, 1795 – September 12, 1878) was a German geologist whose ground-breaking 1834 publication recognized the unity of the three characteristic strata that compose the sedimentary deposits of the Triassic pe ...

, German geologist (born

1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the ...

) * 25 September – August Heinrich Petermann, German cartographer (born 1822 in Germany, 1822) * 4 October – Johannes Rebmann, German missionary (born

) * 4 November – Ludwig Meyn, German agricultural scientist, soil scientist, geologist, journalist and mineralogist (born

) * 17 November – Karl Theodor Keim, Protestant theologian (born 1825 in Germany, 1825) * 10 December – Heinrich Burgers, German journalist and politician (born

) * 14 December - Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (born 1843 in the United Kingdom) * 16 December – Richard Hartmann, German engineering manufacturer (born 1809 in France, 1809)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1878 In Germany 1878 in Germany, Years of the 19th century in Germany 1878 by country, Germany 1878 in Europe, Germany