1888 in Germany
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Events in the year 1888 in Germany, the 'Year of the Three Emperors'.
Incumbents
National level
- Emperor:
- William I (until 9 March)
- Frederick III (9 March to 15 June)
- Wilhelm II (since 15 June)
- Chancellor â Otto von Bismarck
State level
Kingdoms
- King of Bavaria â Otto
- King of Prussia â William I to 9 March, then Frederick III to 15 June, then Wilhelm II
- King of Saxony â Albert
- King of Württemberg â Charles
Grand Duchies
Principalities
- Schaumburg-Lippe â Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt â George Albert, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen â Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
- Principality of Lippe â Woldemar, Prince of Lippe
- Reuss Elder Line â Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz
- Reuss Younger Line â Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line
- Waldeck and Pyrmont â George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Duchies
Colonial Governors
- Cameroon (Kamerun) â Eugen von Zimmerer (1st term) to 17 January, then Julius Freiherr von Soden (2nd term)
- German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) â Karl Peters (administrator) to 8 February, then Hermann Wissmann (commissioner) (1st term)
- German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) â Georg Freiherr von Schleinitz to 1 March, then Reinhold Kraetke (both Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company)
- German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) â Heinrich Ernst Göring (acting commissioner)
- Togoland â Jesko von Puttkamer (acting commissioner) (1st term) to 17 October, then Eugen von Zimmerer (commissioner)
- Wituland (Deutsch-Witu) â Gustav Denhardt (resident)
Events
- 9 March â Emperor Wilhelm I dies at the age of 90 in Berlin. He is succeeded by his oldest son Friedrich Wilhelm, who becomes Friedrich III.
- 16 April â The German Empire annexes the island of Nauru
- 15 June â Wilhelm II becomes German Emperor after the death of his father, Friedrich III.
- 13 December â Heinrich Hertz presents his report on the discovery of electromagnetic radiation to the Berlin Academy of Sciences
Literature
- 'Theses on Feuerbach' by Karl Marx is published posthumously
Music
- Johannes Brahms â Violin Sonata in D Minor (opus 108)
- Max Reger â String Quartet in D minor (with double bass obbligato; without op.) (1888â89)
- Joseph Rheinberger â Organ Sonata No. 12 in D-flat, Op. 154
- Richard Strauss
- Don Juan, Macbeth (first version)
- Carl Maria von Weber's opera Die drei Pintos completed posthumously by Theodor Hell
Sport
- Establishment of association football clubs BFC Germania, TGM SV Jügesheim and KBC Duisburg
Miscellaneous
- First buildings of the Berufsgenossenschaftliches Universitätsklinikum Bergmannsheil opened
Births
- 14 January â Karl Badberger, architect (date of death unknown)
- 17 February â Otto Stern, German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1969)
- 27 February â Lotte Lehmann, German soprano (died 1976)
- 4 March â Emma Richter, German paleontologist (died 1956)[1]
- 14 March:
- Peretz Naftali, German-born Israeli politician (died 1961)
- Hermann Reinecke, Wehrmacht general and convicted war criminal (died 1973)
- 19 March â Josef Albers, German-American artist (died 1976)
- 17 April â Herms Niel, German composer (died 1954)
- 24 July â Hermann von Bönninghausen, German athlete and soldier in World War I (died 1919)
- 25 July â Wilhelm Fritz von Roettig, German Waffen SS general (died 1939)
- 4 September â Oskar Schlemmer, German painter, sculptor and choreographer (died 1943)
- 20 December â Yitzhak Baer, Israeli historian (died 1980)
Deaths
- 9 March â William I, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia (born 1797)
- 5 April â Eduard Karl August Riehm, German Protestant theologian (born 1830)
- 16 April â Friedrich Grillo, German industrialist (born 1825)
- 15 June â Frederick III, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia (born 1831)
- 20 June â Karl Friedrich August Kahnis, German Protestant theologian (born 1814)
- 20 July â Paul Langerhans German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (born 1847)
- 23 July â Johannes Heinrich August Ebrard, German Protestant theologian (born 1818)
- 24 August â Rudolf Clausius, German physicist and mathematician (born 1822)
- 28 August â Georg Beseler, German politician and jurist (born 1809)
- 12 September â August von Werder, German general (born 1808)
- 3 December â Carl Zeiss, German entrepreneur and scientist (born 1816)