1900 in Germany
Encyclopedia
National level
- KaiserKaiserKaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
- Wilhelm II - ChancellorChancellor of GermanyThe Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
- Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst to 17 October, then Bernhard von BülowBernhard von BülowBernhard Heinrich Karl Martin von Bülow , named in 1905 Prince von Bülow, was a German statesman who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for three years and then as Chancellor of the German Empire from 1900 to 1909.Bülow was described as possessing every quality except greatness...
Kingdoms
- King of BavariaKing of BavariaKing 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...
- Otto of BavariaOtto of BavariaOtto , was King of Bavaria from 1886 to 1913. He was the son of Maximilian II and his wife, Marie of Prussia, and younger brother of Ludwig II... - King of Prussia - Kaiser Wilhelm II
- King of Saxony - Albert of SaxonyAlbert of SaxonyAlbert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony...
- King of Württemberg - William II of WürttembergWilliam II of WürttembergWilliam II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...
Grand Duchies
- Grand Duke of Baden - Frederick I
- Grand Duke of Hesse - Ernest LouisErnest Louis, Grand Duke of HesseErnest Louis Charles Albert William , was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 until 1918...
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
- Frederick Francis IV - Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz - Frederick William
- Grand Duke of Oldenburg - Peter IIPeter II, Grand Duke of OldenburgPeter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg was the ruler of Oldenburg from 1853 to 1900.-Family:Duke Nikolaus Friedrich Peter was the only son of Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his second wife Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. He was born on 8 July 1827 in Oldenburg. In his youth, he...
to 13 June, then Frederick Augustus IIFrederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of OldenburgFrederick Augustus II was the last ruling grand duke of Oldenburg. He married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, daughter of Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau and Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia... - Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-EisenachSaxe-Weimar-EisenachThe Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was created in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach. It was raised to a Grand duchy in 1815 by resolution of the Vienna Congress. In 1877, it officially changed its name to the Grand Duchy of Saxony , but this name was...
- Charles AlexanderCharles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-EisenachKarl Alexander August Johann, Grand Duke of Saxony; 24 June 1818 – 5 January 1901) was the ruler of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from 1853 until his death.-Biography:...
Principalities
- Schaumburg-LippeSchaumburg-LippeSchaumburg-Lippe was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bückeburg.- History :...
- George, Prince of Schaumburg-LippeGeorge, Prince of Schaumburg-LippeGeorg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe was a ruler of the small Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe.-Biography:... - Schwarzburg-RudolstadtSchwarzburg-RudolstadtSchwarzburg-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 Schwarzburg dynasty lands...
- Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-RudolstadtGünther Victor, Prince of SchwarzburgGünther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg was the final sovereign prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.-Biography:... - Schwarzburg-SondershausenSchwarzburg-SondershausenSchwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with capital at Sondershausen.-History:...
- Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen - Principality of LippePrincipality of LippeLippe was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.-History:...
- Alexander, Prince of LippeAlexander, Prince of LippeAlexander, Prince of Lippe was the penultimate sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. Succeeding to the throne in 1895, power was exercised by a regent throughout his reign on account of his mental illness....
(with Ernest II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld as regent) - Reuss Elder LineReuss Elder LineThe Principality of Reuss Elder Line was a state in Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. The Counts Reuss of Greiz, Lower- and Upper Greiz , were elevated to princely status in 1778. Its members bore the title Prince Reuss, Elder Line, or Prince Reuss of Greiz...
- Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of GreizHeinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of GreizPrince Heinrich XXII Reuss of Greiz was the reigning sovereign of Reuss, a small principality of the German states, from 1859 to his death in 1902.-Reign:... - Reuss Younger Line - Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger LineHeinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line-Early life:Heinrich XIV was born at Coburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, sixth child of Heinrich LXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line , and his wife, Princess Adelheid Reuss of Ebersdorf , .-Prince Reuss...
- Waldeck and PyrmontWaldeck (state)Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....
- Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Duchies
- Duke of Anhalt - Frederick I, Duke of AnhaltFrederick I, Duke of AnhaltFrederick I was a German prince of the house of Ascania who ruled the Duchy of Anhalt from 1871 to 1904.-Early life:...
- Duke of Brunswick - Prince Albert of Prussia (regent)
- Duke of Saxe-Altenburg - Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
- Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
to 30 July, then Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCharles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCharles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany , and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954... - Duke of Saxe-Meiningen - Georg II, Duke of Saxe-MeiningenGeorg II, Duke of Saxe-MeiningenGeorg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914.-Family and early life:...
Colonial Governors
- CameroonKamerunGerman Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
(Kamerun) - Jesko von PuttkamerJesko von PuttkamerJesko Albert Eugen von Puttkamer was a German colonial military chief, and nine times governor of Kamerun:*13 May 1887 - 4 October 1887*14 August 1890 - 2 December 1890*31 December 1894 - 27 March 1895...
(6th term) to 17 January, then August KöhlerAugust KöhlerAugust Karl Johann Valentin Köhler was a German professor and early staff member of Carl Zeiss AG in Jena, Germany. He is best known for his development of the microscopy technique of Köhler illumination, an important principle in optimizing microscopic resolution power by evenly illuminating the...
to 31 July, then ...Dehl, (acting governor) to 6 September, then ...von Kamptz (acting governor) to 15 November, then again Jesko von Puttkamer (7th term) - Kiaochow (Kiautschou) - Otto Jäschke
- German East AfricaGerman East AfricaGerman East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
(Deutsch-Ostafrika) - Eduard von Liebert - German New GuineaGerman New GuineaGerman New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
(Deutsch-Neuguinea) — Rudolf von Bennigsen - German SamoaGerman SamoaGerman Samoa was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1914, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state Samoa, formerly Western Samoa...
(Deutsch-Samoa) (from March 1) - Wilhelm SolfWilhelm SolfWilhelm Heinrich Solf was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman.-Early life:Wilhelm Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam in western Pomerania and in Mannheim... - German South-West AfricaGerman South-West AfricaGerman South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
- Theodor LeutweinTheodor LeutweinTheodor Gotthilf Leutwein was colonial administrator of German Southwest Africa from 1894-1904. Born in Strümpfelbrunn in the Grand Duchy of Baden, he replaced Curt von François as commander of the Schutztruppe in 1894... - TogolandTogolandTogoland was a German protectorate 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. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa"...
- August KöhlerAugust KöhlerAugust Karl Johann Valentin Köhler was a German professor and early staff member of Carl Zeiss AG in Jena, Germany. He is best known for his development of the microscopy technique of Köhler illumination, an important principle in optimizing microscopic resolution power by evenly illuminating the...
Events
- January 4 - Riots break out as miners go on strike.
- January 6 - The German steamer Herzog was seized by the British warship HMS ThetisHMS ThetisTwelve ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Thetis, named after the sea-nymph in Greek mythology: was a 22-gun storeship launched in 1717. Her fate is unknown. was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1747. She became a hospital ship in 1757 and was sold in 1767. was a 32-gun fifth rate...
outside of Delagoa Bay in East Africa, on suspicions that it was carrying supplies to Boer troops. The Portuguese colonial Governor of Zambesia was among the passengers After none were found, the ship and its crew were released on January 22. - 1 March - The German flag was formally hoisted at Apia, the capital of SamoaSamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, and Wilhelm SolfWilhelm SolfWilhelm Heinrich Solf was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman.-Early life:Wilhelm Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam in western Pomerania and in Mannheim...
became the colony's first governor. Chief Mata'afa, who had fought against the Germans, and Chief Tamasese, who had been the puppet ruler during German occupation, reconciled. Mata'afa was named as the Paramount Chief of the Western Samoa colony, although Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II was designated as the Paramount King. - 1 April - The 6th Royal Bavarian Division6th Royal Bavarian DivisionThe 6th Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on April 1, 1900 and was headquartered in Regensburg...
is raised as anew addition to the German Imperial Army - 13 June - When three ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Boxers came too close to the German legation, one of them, a young man, was captured by the German guards. Baron von Ketteler, the German minister thrashed the Boxer with his cane, ordered his guards to extend the beating, and warned the Chinese Foreign Ministry (the Zongli YamenZongli YamenZongli Yamen was the government body in charge of foreign affairs in imperial China during the late Qing dynasty. It was established by Prince Gong in 1861, following the Convention of Peking. It was abolished in 1901 and replaced with a Foreign Office of ministry rank.The former site of the...
) that the boy would die. Over the next few days, the foreign diplomats began shooting at Chinese nationals near the legation quarter. Von Ketteler himself would be killed on June 20. The same day, communication between the foreign embassies and the rest of the world was halted as their telegraph lines were severed. - 14 June - At 7:00 pm, German embassy guards, under the direction of Ambassador Ketteler, fired on Boxer rebels outside the legation quarter, killing 20. Lancelot Giles of the British embassy, recorded the incident in his diary that night, noting the furious shouts from a crowd trying to get into the city. G.E. Morrison, correspondent for the London Times, noted another incident where 45 Chinese were killed in a raid by the Europeans on a temple.
- 14 June – The ReichstagReichstag (German Empire)The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
approves a second law that allows the expansion of the German navyGerman NavyThe German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
. - 20 June - Clemens von Ketteler, the German ambassador to China, was murdered as he and an aide went to the Chinese Foreign Ministry (Zongli YamenZongli YamenZongli Yamen was the government body in charge of foreign affairs in imperial China during the late Qing dynasty. It was established by Prince Gong in 1861, following the Convention of Peking. It was abolished in 1901 and replaced with a Foreign Office of ministry rank.The former site of the...
) without their guards. With seven hours left until a 4 p.m. deadline for all foreigners to leave Beijing, Baron von Ketteler defied his fellow ambassadors and left the safety of the diplomatic quarter. Von Ketteler was shot and killed (by a Boxer later identified as En Hai) as he approached the Zongli Yamen. His interpreter, Heinrich Cordes, survived to return to the embassy, at which point evacuation was no longer an option. American ambassador Conger would later report that he had learned "that Prince Tuan had planned to have his soldiers massacre all the foreign ministers at the Tsungli Yamen on June 20. But...the impatient soldiers prematurely attacked and killed Baron von Kettler... we were not invited to the Tsungli Yamen, and so were saved. The directive to Mr. Conger stated, "The princes and ministers...beg that within twenty-four hours the minister of the United States, with his family... and taking his guards, keeping them under control, will leave for Tientsin, in order to avoid danger. An escort of troops has been dispatched to give protection en route, and the local officials have been also notified to allow the minister's party to pass." At 4:00 p.m., Chinese troops began their siege of the foreign legations quarter, where 900 foreigners, 523 defenders, and 3,000 Chinese Christians held out behind the walls. The siege would last 55 days. - 21 June - China formally declared war on Germany.
- 14 July - In China, Tientsin (TianjinTianjin' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
) was captured by the Allied forces after a three day battle. The Allies had 775 killed or wounded, mostly from Russian troops and Japanese troops under the command of the Japanese Colonel Kuriya. Parties of German and French soldiers destroyed the enemy's guns, while American, British, Japanese and Austrian troops, and the Welsh Fussillers captured the arsenal. - 27 July - Kaiser Wilhelm II gave the infamous "Huns Speech" at BremerhavenBremerhavenBremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
as he dispatched troops to fight in China. The most inflammatory line was, "Wie vor tausend Jahren die Hunnen unter ihrem König Etzel sich einen Namen gemacht, der sie noch jetzt in Überlieferung und Märchen gewaltig erscheinen läßt, so möge der Name Deutscher in China auf 1000 Jahre durch euch in einer Weise bestätigt werden, daß es niemals wieder ein Chinese wagt, einen Deutschen scheel anzusehen!". "Just as the Huns under their King Atilla made a name for themselves a thousand years ago which still, in saga and tradition, makes them appear powerful, so may the name "German" be impressed by you for a thousand years, that no Chinese will ever dare again look askance at a German!" The Germans were, for a century thereafter, referred to as "Huns". - 17 October - Bernhard von BülowBernhard von BülowBernhard Heinrich Karl Martin von Bülow , named in 1905 Prince von Bülow, was a German statesman who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for three years and then as Chancellor of the German Empire from 1900 to 1909.Bülow was described as possessing every quality except greatness...
became the fourth Chancellor of the German Empire, appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm I. The former Foreign Secretary succeeded Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe, who resigned because of his age (81) and health. - 16 November - During a parade in Breslau, (now WroclawWroclawWrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), a woman threw a hatchet at the open carriage of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Selma Schnapke, later ruled to be insane, threw well enough that the "hand chopper" struck the imperial carriage, and was arrested. - 1 December - A censusCensusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of the German Empire was taken. Provisional figures showed a population of 56,345,014. - 31 December - At 3:00 in the afternoon in Beijing, Su-Hai, identified as the man who had killed Baron von Ketteler, Germany's minister to China, on June 20, became the last prominent person to die in the 19th Century. Su-Hai was beheaded at the scene of the crime.
Commerce
- 3 June - A series of meat inspection laws, at the time the most comprehensive in the world, are introduced.
- 1 September - The German-American Telegraph Company opened the first direct line between Germany and the United States. At 7,917 kilometers or 4,919 miles, the line was the longest transatlantic cable to that time, running from EmdenEmdenEmden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
to New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, via the Azores Islands. - The AdlerAdler (automobile)Adler was a German automobile and motorcycle manufacturer from 1900 until 1957. Adler is German for eagle.-History:The Adler factory produced bicycles, typewriters, and motorcycles in addition to cars...
automobile company is established.
Diplomacy
- January 14 - The United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
accepts the AngloUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-German treaty of 1899, in which the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
renounces its claims to the Samoan islandsAmerican SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. - 16 February - In Washington, British Ambassador Lord Pauncefote, and German Ambassador Baron Theodor von HollebenTheodor von HollebenTheodor von Holleben was a German diplomat.-Biography:Holleben was educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Göttingen; became an officer in the Bodyguard Hussar Regiment; and took part in the Franco-Prussian War...
met with Secretary of State HayJohn HayJohn Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
at the State Department, and exchanged ratifications of the Samoan Treaty signed by all three nations. "Secretary Hay retained for the United States the copy of the treaty which was ratified by the United States Senate. He handed to Lord Pauncefote and to Herr von Holleben copies of the treaty bearing the signatures of the President and himself", reported the New York Times. Similar proceedings took place in London and in Berlin with the foreign ministers and ambassadors, completing the Tripartite Convention of 1899. Under the treaty, the Pacific islands of Samoa were divided between the U.S. (as American SamoaAmerican SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
) and Germany (later the Independent State of Samoa). - 16 October - Germany and the UK signed an agreement in London, providing that they would oppose the partition of China into spheres of influence. The "Yangtze Agreement", signed by Lord Salisbury and Ambassador Hatzfeldt, was an endorsement of the Open Door PolicyOpen Door PolicyThe Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in...
proposed by the United States for free trade in China. - 5 December - Germany, Austria-HungaryAustria-HungaryAustria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
signed a treaty providing that their navies would work together in the event of an attack on either nation by FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Science
- 7 March - A new era in transportation safety began on reports of the first successful transmission of wirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
signals from a passenger ship to a distant receiver. The German steamer SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, carrying 1,500 passengers, transmitted from on ship to BorkumBorkumBorkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.-Geography:Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait , to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by the Wadden Sea...
, fifty miles away. - 7 April - At Thomas Edison's laboratory, an agent of the Goldschmidt Chemische-Thermo Industrie of Essen, Germany, demonstrated a process to melt iron in five seconds. "Louis Dreyfus of Frankfort-on-Main...showed Mr. Edison his new process for attaining an enormous degree of heat in an incredibly short space of time by the combustion of a certain chemical compound which the inventor keeps a secret," the New York Times reported, "then placed a six-inch long iron wrench in a crucible and created a fire that reached 3,000 degrees centigrade."
- 16 August - A German excavation at the Tel Amran ibn Ali, near the Babylonian temple at EtemenankiEtemenankiEtemenanki was the name of a ziggurat dedicated to Marduk in the city of Babylon of the 6th century BCE Neo-Babylonian dynasty. Originally seven stories in height, little remains of it now except ruins.-Construction:It is unclear exactly when Etemenanki was first built. A review article by Andrew R...
(near modern Al Hillah, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
), German excavators unearthed a glazed amphora with 10,000 coins dating from the 7th Century BC. - 15 October - Questionnaires were sent to every physician in Germany in the first attempt to make a study on the prevalence of cancer.
- 14 December - On a date now considered to be the birthday of quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
, Max PlanckMax PlanckMax Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
presented his paper Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der Energieverteilung in Normalspektrum (On the Theory of the Law of Energy Distribution in Normal Spectrum) at a meeting of the German Physical Society in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Sport
- 27 February - Foundation of Bayern Munich.
- 14 May - 28 October - The 1900 Summer Olympics1900 Summer OlympicsThe 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of...
takes place in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. GermanyGermany at the 1900 Summer OlympicsGermany competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Medalists:Germany finished in seventh position in the final medal rankings, with four gold medals and eight medals overall.-Athletics:...
finishes seventh on the overall medal table with four gold medals, two silver and two bronze. - 1 August - Foundation of Borussia MönchengladbachBorussia MönchengladbachBorussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
- 4 November - The German Rugby Federation (Deutscher Rugby-Verband) was founded at KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. - The inaugural BMW OpenBMW OpenThe BMW Open is a tennis tournament held in Munich, Germany. Held since 1900, the tournament is played on outdoor clay courts and is a part of the ATP Tour schedule.-History:...
tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
event is held by the Münchner Tennis- und Turnierclub (MTTC) Iphitos club.
Transport
- 10 January - The DeutschlandSS Deutschland (1900)SS Deutschland was a passenger liner owned by the Hamburg America Line of Germany. She sailed for over 25 years under three different names. The second ship to have been built as a four funnel liner, she was built by Hamburg America as a response to the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. She was the...
, operated by the Hamburg-American Line and promising to be the fastest passenger ship to that time, was launched from the shipyards at Stettin, GermanySzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
(now Szczecin, Poland). - 16 June - In LübeckLübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany, the Elbe-Lübeck CanalElbe-Lübeck CanalThe Elbe-Lübeck Canal is an artificial waterway in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It connects the Elbe and Trave rivers, hence constituting an accessway from the Elbe to the Baltic Sea. It is long; the northern terminus is Lübeck, the southern terminus is the town of Lauenburg...
, 41 miles (66 km) in length, was formally opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The canal took five years to build at a cost of nearly six million dollars at the time, and joined the ElbeElbeThe Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
River to the TraveTraveThe Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Oldesloe, and Lübeck, where it is linked to the...
, which in turn provided ocean access at the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. - 30 June - At Pier 8 of in Hoboken, New JerseyHoboken, New JerseyHoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, cotton bales and barrels of turpentine and oil caught fire around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In less than 15 minutes, high winds spread the blaze a quarter of a mile along the port and on to the four German steamships moored there. The Saale and the Main, each with 150 crew on board, were destroyed, and the was heavily damaged. On the Saale, the portholes were too narrow for the men inside to escape, and most on board burned to death. The huge liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was saved by being towed into the Hudson River. Despite the best efforts of the Hoboken and New York fire departments to save the piers and the ships, respectively, 326 people were killed. - 2 July - Starting at 8:03 pm, the first rigid airship flew from from a floating hangar on Lake ConstanceLake ConstanceLake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
near FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafenThis article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
. Luftschiff Zeppelin 1 (or LZ1), with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and four others aboard, flew at an altitude of 1300 feet (396.2 m), going 3.75 miles (6 km) in 18 minutes before being forced to land due to a broken part. - 12 July - A German cruise liner, the SS DeutschlandSS Deutschland (1900)SS Deutschland was a passenger liner owned by the Hamburg America Line of Germany. She sailed for over 25 years under three different names. The second ship to have been built as a four funnel liner, she was built by Hamburg America as a response to the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. She was the...
, broke the Blue RibandBlue RibandThe Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...
record for the first time with an average speed of 22.42 knots (43.9 km/h). - 16 December - The German training frigate GneisenauSMS Gneisenau (1879)SMS Gneisenau was a three-masted, full-rigged sail frigate of the German Kaiserliche Marine [Imperial Navy] with an unplated iron hull and a steam engine. The ship was named after the Prussian field marshal August von Gneisenau....
, with 450 naval cadets on board, sank in a storm during exercises off of the Spanish coast at Malaga, drowning 136.
Publications
- 24 December - IskraIskraIskra was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Initially, it was managed by Vladimir Lenin, moving as he moved. The first edition was published in Stuttgart on December 1, 1900. Other editions were...
, a newspaper published by Vladimir Lenin in support of Bolshevik rebellion in Russia, was published for the first time, printed in LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
Births
- 2 March — Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, composer, in Dessau - 10 March — Erich KästnerErich Kästner (World War I veteran)Dr. Erich Kästner was the last documented World War I veteran who fought for the German Empire and the last who was born in Germany. Consequently he was the last Central Powers combatant of the Western Front. He was also the second oldest man in Germany...
, last surviving German veteran of World War I - 23 March — Erich FrommErich FrommErich Seligmann Fromm was a Jewish German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with what became known as the Frankfurt School of critical theory.-Life:Erich Fromm was born on March 23, 1900, at Frankfurt am...
, psychologist and philosopher - 14 April — Hermann BartelsHermann BartelsHermann Bartels was a German architect and member of the Nazi Party and the SS.Bartels was close to Heinrich Himmler, who put Bartels to work on his pet project of rebuilding castles, and as such the Reichsführer-SS gave Bartels the rank of SS-Standartenführer...
, architect - 21 April — Hans FritzscheHans FritzscheHans Georg Fritzsche was a senior German Nazi official, ending the war as Ministerialdirektor at the Propagandaministerium.- Career :...
, Nazi official - 12 May — Helene WeigelHelene WeigelHelene Weigel was a distinguished German actress. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht, and together they had a son Stefan Brecht and daughter Barbara Brecht-Schall .The daughter of a Jewish lawyer, she became a Communist Party member from 1930 and Artistic Director of the...
, actress - 15 May — Franz OllendorffFranz OllendorffFranz Heinrich Ollendorff, also known as Haim Ollendorff was an Israeli physicist.-Biography:...
, German-born Israeli physicist - 23 May — Hans FrankHans FrankHans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
, Nazi military governor of Poland 1939-1945 - 3 June — Leo PicardLeo PicardLeo Picard, also known as Yehudah Leo Picard , was an Israeli geologist and an expert in the field of hydrology.-Biography:Picard was born in Germany in 1900, and studied at universities in Freiberg and Berlin, in Germany, and in Paris and London, and taught at the University of Florence,...
, German-born Israeli geologist and an expert in the field of hydrology (d. 19971997 in Israel-Incumbents:* Prime Minister of Israel - Benjamin Netanyahu * President of Israel - Ezer Weizman* Chief of General Staff - Amnon Lipkin-Shahak* Government of Israel - 27th Government of Israel-Events:...
) - 17 June — Martin BormannMartin BormannMartin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
, Deputy Führer of Germany, 1941–1945 - 25 August — Sir Hans Adolf KrebsHans Adolf KrebsSir Hans Adolf Krebs was a German-born British physician and biochemist. Krebs is best known for his identification of two important metabolic cycles: the urea cycle and the citric acid cycle...
, German Jewish (later British) physician and biochemist and Nobel laureate (d. 19811981 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1981 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – HM Queen Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:* 5 January...
) - 26 August — Hellmuth WalterHellmuth WalterHellmuth Walter was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines...
, rocket engineer - 25 September — Fritz KolbeFritz KolbeFritz Kolbe was a German diplomat who became America's most important spy against the Nazis in World War II.-Career:Fritz Kolbe was born in Berlin...
, diplomat and spy - 1 October — Bruno KlopferBruno KlopferBruno Klopfer was born in Bavaria, Germany on 1 October, 1900.He had a profound impact on the development of psychological personality testing, and was an important pioneer and innovator in the development, scoring and popularization of projective techniques, especially the Rorschach inkblot...
, psychologist - 7 October — Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, Reichsführer-SSReichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:... - 19 October — Fritz KranefussFritz KranefussFriedrich Carl Arthur Kranefuß , known as Fritz Kranefuß, was a German industrialist and a Wehrwirtschaftsführer in the Third Reich....
, industrialist - 25 November — Rudolf HößRudolf HößRudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss was an SS-Obersturmbannführer , and from 4 May 1940 to November 1943, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, where it is estimated that more than a million people were murdered...
, commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp - 3 November — Adolf "Adi" DasslerAdolf DasslerAdolf "Adi" Dassler was the founder of the German sportswear company Adidas....
, founder of the AdidasAdidasAdidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
shoe company - 16 December — Rudolf DielsRudolf DielsRudolf Diels was a German politician and SS-Oberführer. A protégé of Hermann Göring, Diels was in charge of the Gestapo from 1933 to 1934....
, founder of the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
Deaths
- 13 June — Peter IIPeter II, Grand Duke of OldenburgPeter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg was the ruler of Oldenburg from 1853 to 1900.-Family:Duke Nikolaus Friedrich Peter was the only son of Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his second wife Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. He was born on 8 July 1827 in Oldenburg. In his youth, he...
, Grand Duke of OldenburgOldenburgOldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
(b. 1827) - 30 July — AlfredAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaSaxe-Coburg and GothaSaxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the collective name of two duchies, Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, in Germany. They were located in what today are the states of Bavaria and Thuringia, respectively, and the two were in personal union between 1826 and 1918...
(b. 1844) - 25 August — Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, philosopher (b. 1844)