Events in the year 1891 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 ...

–

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

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 ...

–

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English language, English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman. He ...

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 ...

–

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

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 ...

– Wilhelm II * King of Saxony – Albert *

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 ''* ...

to 6 October, then William II

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 * Grand Duke of Hesse – 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 III * Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederick William *

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 – Charles Alexander

Principalities

* Schaumburg-Lippe – Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe *

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 ...

– Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt *

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 ...

– Karl Günther, 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 – Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz * Reuss Younger Line – Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line * Waldeck and Pyrmont – George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Duchies

* Duke of Anhalt – Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt * Duke of Brunswick – Prince Albert of Prussia (regent) *

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 – 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

Colonial Governors

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

(Kamerun) – from 7 August Bruno von Schuckmann ''(acting governor)'' *

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

(Deutsch-Ostafrika) – Hermann Wissmann ''(commissioner)'' ''(1st term)'' to 21 February, then Julius Freiherr von Soden (with ...

Rüdiger Rüdiger (English ''Ruediger'', ''Rudiger'', Roger) is a German given name. The meaning comes from Old High German: ''hruod'' (fame) and ''ger'' (spear). The name became popular because of the character Rüdiger von Bechelaren from '' Nibelung''. ...

, acting governor) *

German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...

(Deutsch-Neuguinea) – Fritz Rose ''(commissioner)'' *

German South-West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

(Deutsch-Südwestafrika) – Louis Nels ''(acting commissioner)'' to March, then

Curt von François Curt Karl Bruno von François (2 October 1852 – 28 December 1931) was a German geographer, cartographer, Schutztruppe officer and commissioner of the German colonial empire, imperial colonial army of the German Empire, particularly in German So ...

''(commissioner)'' *

Togoland Togoland, officially the Togoland Protectorate (; ), was a protectorate of the German Empire in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400&nb ...

– Eugen von Zimmerer ''(commissioner)'' to 14 April, then vacant

Events

* 23– 24 January – 1891 European Figure Skating Championships in Hamburg

Undated

* German company

Dr. Oetker Dr. Oetker () is a German multinational company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, Pizza#Preparation, frozen pizza, pudding, cake decoration, cornflakes, birthday candles, beer, and various other products. The company is a wholly owned b ...

is founded in Bielefeld. *

Robert Koch Institute The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federa ...

is founded in Berlin. *

International Electrotechnical Exhibition The 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition was held between 16 May and 19 October on the disused site of the three former ( Western Railway Stations) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The exhibition featured the first long-distance tra ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

* The modern

taximeter A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calculates passenger fares based on a combination of distance travelled and waiting time. Its shortened form, "taxi", is also a meton ...

is invented by German Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn. * The

Fischer projection In chemistry, the Fischer projection, devised by Emil Fischer in 1891, is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional organic molecule by projection. Fischer projections were originally proposed for the depiction of carbohydrates a ...

is devised by

Hermann Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fisch ...

. * August Thyssen and Joseph Thyssen found German steel company Thyssen.

Births

* 8 January –

Walther Bothe Walther Wilhelm Georg Bothe (; 8 January 1891 – 8 February 1957) was a German physicist who shared the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics with Max Born "for the coincidence method and his discoveries made therewith". He served in the military durin ...

, German physicist (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 ...

) * 22 January –

Bruno Loerzer Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 – 23 August 1960) was a German air force officer during World War I and World War II. Credited with 44 aerial victories during World War I, he was one of Germany's leading flying aces, as well as commander of ...

, German aviator and air force general (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 ...

) * 24 January –

Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. H ...

, German field marshal (died

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

) *

27 January Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes sole emperor of the ...

– Wilhelm Morgner, German painter (died

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

) * 31 January – Kurt von Plettenberg, German forester (died

) * 14 February – Erich Engel, film and theatre director (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 ...

) * 15 February – Josef Wintrich, German judge (died

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

) * 17 February –

Abraham Fraenkel Abraham Fraenkel (; 17 February, 1891 – 15 October, 1965) was a German-born Israeli mathematician. He was an early Zionist and the first Dean of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is known for his contributions to axiomatic ...

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 mathematician and Zionist (died

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

) * 3 March – Fritz Rumey, German World War I fighter ace (died

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

) * 11 March – Gertrud Wolle, German film actress (died

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

) * 12 March – Hermann Stenner, German painter (died

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

) * 24 March – Rudolf Berthold, German fighter pilot (died

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

) * 28 March – Peter Suhrkamp, German publisher (died

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

) *

2 April Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...

–

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

, German painter (died

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

) * 10 May – Anton Dostler, German general (died

) *

13 May Events Pre-1600 *1344 – A Latin Christian fleet defeats a Turkish fleet in the battle of Pallene during the Smyrniote crusades. *1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, vis ...

– Fritz Rasp, German actor (died

) *

– Wilhelm Weskamm, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (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 ...

) * 16 May – Adolf Ritter von Tutschek, German fighter ace (died

) * 18 May – Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (died 1970 in the United States, 1970) * 22 May – Johannes R. Becher, German politician, poet and novelist (died

) * 21 June - Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (died

) * 14 July – Fritz Kampers, German actor (died 1950 in Germany, 1950) * 14 July – Werner Rittberger, German figure skater (died 1975 in Germany, 1975) * 29 July – Bernhard Zondek,

i gynecologist, developer of first reliable pregnancy test (died 1966 in Israel, 1966) * 7 August – Johannes Joseph van der Velden, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (died 1954 in Germany, 1954) * 4 September – Fritz Todt, German engineer (died 1942 in Germany, 1942) * 16 September – Karl Dönitz, German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II (died 1980 in Germany, 1980) * 22 September – Hans Albers, German actor (died

) * 9 October – Kurt von Tippelskirch, German general (died

) * 22 October – Carl-Hans Graf von Hardenberg, German politician and landowner (died

) * 25 October – Karl Elmendorff, German conductor (died 1962 in Germany, 1962) * 14 November – Josef Magnus Wehner, German poet and playwright (died 1973 in Germany, 1973) * 15 November – Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (died 1944 in Germany, 1944) * 16 November – Julius Leber, German politician (died

) * 2 December – Otto Dix, German painter and forced Volkssturm conscript (died 1969 in Germany, 1969) * 6 December – Gotthard Sachsenberg, German World War I naval aviator and fighter ace (died 1961 in Germany, 1961) * 10 December – Nelly Sachs, German poet and playwright (died 1970 in Sweden, 1970) * 17 December – Karl Emil Schäfer, German World War I fighter ace (died 1917 in Belgium, 1917)

Deaths

* 26 January – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer and inventor (born 1832 in Germany, 1832) * 27 February – Karl Eduard Heusner, German admiral (born 1843 in Germany, 1843) * 14 March – Ludwig Windthorst, German politician (born 1812 in Germany, 1812) * 24 April – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal, chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years (born 1800 in Germany, 1800) * 22 May – Ernst Julius Hähnel, German sculptor (born 1811 in Germany, 1811) * 23 June – Wilhelm Eduard Weber, chemist (born 1804 in Germany, 1804) * 21 June – Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff, general (born 1832 in Germany, 1832) * 6 October – Charles I of Württemberg, Charles I, King King of Württemberg, of Württemberg (born 1823 in Germany, 1823) * 14 December – Ferdinand von Roemer, German geologist (born 1818 in Germany, 1818) * 29 December – Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (born 1823 in Germany, 1823)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1891 1891 in Germany, Years of the 19th century in Germany 1891 by country, Germany 1891 in Europe, Germany