Events in the year 1954 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

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

–

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

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 ...

–

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

Events

* 18 to 29 June - 4th Berlin International Film Festival * 4 July - Germany wins in 1954 FIFA World Cup Final *17 October - East German general election, 1954 *Date unknown -

Wittig reaction The Wittig reaction or Wittig olefination is a chemical reaction of an aldehyde or ketone with a triphenyl phosphonium ylide called a Wittig reagent. Wittig reactions are most commonly used to convert aldehydes and ketones to alkenes. Most o ...

was discovered by

Georg Wittig Georg Wittig (; 16 June 1897 – 26 August 1987) was a German chemist who reported a method for synthesis of alkenes from aldehydes and ketones using compounds called phosphonium ylides in the Wittig reaction. He shared the Nobel Prize i ...

. *Date unknown - The

Angle grinder An angle grinder, also known as a side grinder or disc grinder, is a handheld power tool used for grinding (abrasive cutting) and polishing. History The high-speed angle grinder was invented in 1954 by German company Ackermann + Schmitt ( FLE ...

is invented by German company ''Ackermann + Schmitt'' ( FLEX-Elektrowerkzeuge GmbH). * Date unknown - The first electric

drip brew Drip coffee is made by pouring hot water onto ground coffee beans, allowing it to brew while seeping through. There are several methods for doing this, including using a filter. Terms used for the resulting coffee often reflect the method ...

coffeemaker A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers, the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee ...

is patented in Germany and named the Wigomat after its inventor Gottlob Widmann.

Births

* 4 January ** Birgit Havenstein, German composer ** Peter Seiffert, German operatic tenor (died

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

) * 16 January - Wolfgang Schmidt, German track and field athlete * 19 January **

Katharina Thalbach Katharina Thalbach (; actually ''Katharina Joachim genannt Thalbach''; born 19 January 1954) is a German actress and stage director. She played theater at the Berliner Ensemble and at the olksbühne Berlin and was an actress in the film ''Th ...

, German actress ** Joachim Deckarm, German handball player * 21 January -

Thomas de Maizière Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière (; born 21 January 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2018, as well as Federal Minister of Defence f ...

, German politician * 28 January -

Peter Lampe Peter Lampe (born 28 January 1954) is a German Protestant theologian and chaired Senior Professor of New Testament Studies/History of Early Christianity at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Life After studies in theology, philosophy and a ...

, German theologian and historian * 7 February -

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen on 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of the pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous G ...

, songwriter, producer, singer and television personality * 10 February -

Peter Ramsauer Peter Ramsauer (born 10 February 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) who served as the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Second Merkel cabinet. Early life and educatio ...

, German politician * 19 February -

Reiner Haseloff Reiner Erich Haseloff (born 19 February 1954) is a German politician who serves as the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt. On 9 October 2020, he was elected President of the Bundesrat. His one-year term started on 1 November 2020. Political ...

, German politician * 26 February - Prince Ernst August of Hanover, German head of the deposed royal House of Hanover * 1 March - Volker Wieker, German chief of staff of the Bundeswehr * 6 March -

Harald Schumacher Harald Anton "Toni" Schumacher (born 6 March 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he won a Bundesliga title and three DFB-Pokal titles with 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represen ...

, German football player * 26 March ** Jutta Speidel, German actress **

Udo Di Fabio Udo Di Fabio (born 26 March 1954, in Duisburg) is a German jurist. He is a former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, Germany's highest court, where he served as a member of the Second Senate from December 1999 until December 2 ...

, German judge * 1 April -

Dieter Müller Dieter Müller (né Kaster; 1 April 1954) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He achieved his greatest success playing for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in th ...

, German football player * 9 April - Arnold Stadler, German writer * 16 April -

Sibylle Lewitscharoff Sibylle Lewitscharoff (; 16 April 1954 – 13 May 2023) was a German author. She first wrote in her spare time as a bookkeeper, quitting after her first novel, ''Pong'', appeared in 1998. ''Pong'' was successful with critics and the public, ea ...

, German author (died

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

) * 19 April - Ingrid Peters, German singer * 20 April ** Gero von Boehm, German journalist ** Martin Stratmann, German electrochemist and materials scientist * 21 April - Sabine Engel, German discus thrower * 1 May - Eckart Diesch, German sailor * 24 May - Rainald Goetz, German author, playwright and essayist * 4 June -

Hermann Gerland Hermann "Tiger" Gerland (born 4 June 1954) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who has most recently worked as an assistant coach of Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern ...

, German football manager * 8 June -

Jochen Schümann Jochen Schümann (; born 8 June 1954) is a German sailor and three-time Olympic champion. He competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where he won a gold medal in the '' finn class''. He competed in the Soling class at the 1988, 1996 ...

, German sailor * 10 June - Ute Frevert, German historian * 13 June -

Heiner Koch Heiner Koch (born 13 June 1954) is a German Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Berlin since 2015. He was an auxiliary bishop in Cologne from 2006 to 2013 and Bishop of Dresden-Meissen from 2013 to 2015. Early life and career Koc ...

, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church * 20 June -

Karlheinz Brandenburg Karlheinz Brandenburg (born 20 June 1954) is a German electrical engineer and mathematician. Together with Ernst Eberlein, Heinz Gerhäuser (former Institutes Director of Fraunhofer IIS), Bernhard Grill, Jürgen Herre and Harald Popp (all Fraunh ...

, German electrical engineer and mathematician * 22 June - Wolfgang Becker, German film director and screenwriter (died 2024) * 3 July - Herbert Hainer, German businessman * 17 July -

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

, German politician,

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

* 25 July -

Jürgen Trittin Jürgen Trittin (born 25 July 1954) is a German Green politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Early life and education ...

, German politician * 28 July -

Gerd Faltings Gerd Faltings (; born 28 July 1954) is a German mathematician known for his work in arithmetic geometry. Education From 1972 to 1978, Faltings studied mathematics and physics at the University of Münster. Interrupted by 15 months of obligatory ...

, German mathematician * 14 August - Berthold Albrecht, German entrepreneur (died

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

) * 11 October - Sascha Hehn, German actor * 12 October - Norbert Klaar, German sport shooter * 3 November -

Siegfried Mauser Siegfried Mauser (born 3 November 1954) is a German pianist, academic and music manager. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, German courts convicted him as a multiple sex offender.Ralf Wiegand/Susi Wimmer, ''Professor Unrat.'' In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', n ...

, German pianist * 25 November -

Rudolf Mellinghoff Rudolf Mellinghoff (born 25 November 1954) is a German judge, jurisprudent and tax law expert who served as President of the Federal Fiscal Court from 2011 to 2020. He was also a justice of the Federal Constitutional Court serving in the court' ...

, German judge * 14 December -

Eva Mattes __NOTOC__ Eva Mattes (; born 14 December 1954) is a German-Austrian actress. She has appeared in four films directed by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder ('' The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'', ', '' Effi Briest'' and '' In a Year of 13 Moons ...

, German actress * 24 December - Lorenz Caffier, German politician

Deaths

January 15 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Roman emperor, Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months. *1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to set ...

- Hermann Höpker-Aschoff, German judge and politician (born

1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...

) *

January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to '' Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surren ...

- Cornelius van Oyen, German sport shooter (born

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

) *

January 22 Events Pre-1600 * 613 – Eight-month-old Heraclius Constantine is crowned as co-emperor ('' Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. * 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated b ...

Princess Margaret of Prussia Margaret of Prussia (; 22 April 1872 – 22 January 1954) was the youngest child of Frederick III, German Emperor, and Victoria, Princess Royal. She was also the younger sister of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Emperor Wilhelm II and the granddaught ...

, Prussian princess (born

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

) *

February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Hormizd IV, king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown and blinded by his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih. * 1579 – The Diocese of Manila is erected by papal bull, with Domingo de Salazar appointe ...

Friedrich Meinecke Friedrich Meinecke (October 20, 1862 – February 6, 1954) was a German historian with national liberal and antisemitic views who supported the Nazi invasion of Poland. As a representative of an older tradition, he criticized the Nazi regime ...

, German historian (born

1862 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – Second French intervention in Mexico, French intervention in Mexico: Second French Empire, French, Spanish and British ...

) *

March 6 Events Pre-1600 * 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor. * 845 – The 42 Martyrs of Amorium are killed after refusing to convert to Islam. * 1204 &ndas ...

Hermann Dietrich Hermann Robert Dietrich (14 December 1879 – 6 March 1954) was a German politician of the liberal German Democratic Party and served as a minister during the Weimar Republic. Finance Minister of Germany In 1930, Dietrich succeeded Paul Molden ...

, German politician (born

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

) **

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 18846 March 1954) was at various points in his life a British prince, a German duke, and a Nazi politician. He was the last ruling duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the G ...

(born

1884 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1884 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents * Monarch – Victoria * Prime Minister – William Ewart Gladstone ( Liberal) Events * 4 January – the Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. ...

) *

March 7 Events Pre-1600 * 161 – Marcus Aurelius and L. Commodus (who changes his name to Lucius Verus) become joint emperors of Rome on the death of Antoninus Pius. * 1138 – Konrad III von Hohenstaufen was elected king of Germany at Cobl ...

—

Otto Diels Otto Paul Hermann Diels (; 23 January 1876 – 7 March 1954) was a German chemist. His most notable work was done with Kurt Alder on the Diels–Alder reaction, a method for cyclohexene synthesis. The pair was awarded the Nobel Prize in C ...

, German chemist (born

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

) *

April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor ...

- Siegfried von Roedern, German politician (born

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

) *

May 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance. * 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Sp ...

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (20 September 1886 – 6 May 1954) was the last German Empire, German Crown Princess and Crown Princess of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia as the wife of Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, the son o ...

, German crown princess (born

) *

May 19 Events Pre-1600 * 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace. * 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected. * 934 – The Byzantine Empire reconquers Melitene under ...

Johannes Joseph van der Velden Johannes Joseph van der Velden (7 August 1891 – 19 May 1954) was a Catholic theologian and Bishop of Aachen. He presided over the Diocese of Aachen from 7 September 1943 until his death. In 1944, he advised the Allied authorities on the selecti ...

, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (born

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

) *

June 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar. * 1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...

- Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen, German composer and conductor (born

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

) *

June 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1358 – The Republic of Ragusa is founded. * 1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England. * 1499 – Amerigo Vespucci sights what is now Amapá State in B ...

Theodor Loos Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor. The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in Leipz ...

, German actor (born

) *

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 192 ...

, German actress, novelist and film director (born

1888 Events January * January 3 – The great telescope (with an objective lens of diameter) at Lick Observatory in California is first used. * January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, M ...

) *

July 16 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 ...

- Herms Niel, German composer (born

) *

August 4 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Goguryeo–Sui War#Course of the war, Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Emperor Wen of Sui, Wéndi of Sui dynasty, Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assiste ...

Harald Paulsen Harald Paulsen (26 August 1895 – 4 August 1954) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954. Career Paulsen first appeared on stage at age sixteen. He then studied under Leopold Jessner, who ...

, German actor (born

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

) *

August 7 Events Pre-1600 * 461 – Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the ''magister militum'' Ricimer. * 626 – The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of ...

Wilhelm Dittmann Wilhelm Friedrick Karl Dittmann (1 November 1874 – 7 August 1954), was a German Social Democratic politician who was a founding member of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and on its Central Committee from 1917 to 1922, ...

, German politician (born

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

) *

August 25 Events Pre-1600 * 766 – Emperor Constantine V humiliates nineteen high-ranking officials, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios. * 1248 – The Dutch cit ...

- Johannes Stroux, German philologist and writer (born

) *

September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. * 1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava *1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Hen ...

- Eugen Schiffer, German politician (born

1860 Events January * January 2 – The astronomer Urbain Le Verrier announces the discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan (hypothetical planet), Vulcan at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 &ndas ...

) *

September 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England. * 1331 – The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teut ...

Maximilian von Weichs Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von und zu Weichs an der Glonn (12 November 1881 – 27 September 1954) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field marshal) in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. B ...

, German field marshal (born

1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...

) *

October 29 Events Pre-1600 * 312 – Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand '' adventus'' in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber ...

- Hermann Ehlers, German politician (born

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

) *October 30 - Gustav Dahrendorf, German politician (born 1901 in Germany, 1901) *November 11 - Reinhold Schünzel, German actor (born

) *November 30 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor and composer (born

) *December 14 - Emil Rausch, German swimmer (born

) *December 30 - Günther Quandt, German industrialist (born

) *Date unknown — Franz Brandt, World War I German flying ace (born 1893 in Germany, 1893)

References

1954 in Germany, 1950s in Germany Years of the 20th century in Germany 1954 by country, Germany 1954 in Europe, Germany {{Europe-year-stub

Incumbents

Events

Births

Deaths

See also

References