1871 in Germany

Events from the year 1871 in Germany.

Incumbents

National level

Emperor – William I
Chancellor – Otto von Bismarck

State level

Kingdoms

Grand Duchies

Principalities

Duchies

Duke of Anhalt – Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt to 22 May, then Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
Duke of Brunswick – William, Duke of Brunswick
Duke of Saxe-Altenburg – Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – Ernest II, [Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

Events

3 January – Battle of Bapaume. Prussian victory in continuing Franco-Prussian War.
10 January – Besieged city of Péronne surrenders to Prussian forces.
10–12 January – Battle of Le Mans, ends French resistance in western France.
15–17 January – Battle of the Lisaine. Prussian victory.
18 January – The member-states of the North German Federation and the south German states unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany.
19 January – Battle of St. Quentin. Prussian victory defeats French attempts to relieve the besieged city of Paris.
19–20 January – Battle of Buzenval. Prussian victory.
28 January – Siege of [Paris (1870-1871)|Siege of Paris] ends, with the city falling to Prussian forces.
15 February – Armistice signed between France and Prussia.
18 February – Siege of Belfort ends with surrender of French garrison.
26 February – Treaty of Versailles ends the Franco-Prussian War.
3 March – German [federal election, 1871]
21 March – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire and his Bismarck cabinet was sworn in.
16 April – Constitution of the German Empire, the basic law of the German Empire of 1871–1918, passed by German Reichtstag and coming into effect on 4 May 1871.
10 May – Treaty of Frankfurt is signed with confirming the frontiers between Germany and France.
15 May – The Strafgesetzbuch, which goes back to the Penal Code of the North German Confederation, passed in Reichstag. It came into effect on January 1, 1872.
10 December – Otto von Bismarck tries to ban Catholics from the political stage by introducing harsh laws concerning the separation of church and state.

Undated

The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are transferred from France to Germany.
The Constitution of the German Empire abolishes all restrictions on Jewish marriage, choice of occupation, place of residence, and property ownership. Exclusion from government employment and discrimination in social relations remain in effect.
The Pulpit Law is passed by the Reichstag
The Strafgesetzbuch is passed by the Reichstag, largely identical to the Penal Code of the North German Confederation.
German company Continental is founded in Hannover.
Federal [Institute for Materials Research and Testing] is founded.
German company Hoesch AG is founded in Dortmund.

Births

January to June

21 January – Hermann Blau, German chemist and inventor
4 February – Friedrich Ebert, President of Germany
4 February – Heinrich Schnee, German lawyer, colonial civil servant, politician, writer, and association official
13 February – Joseph Vollmer, German engineer
18 February – Ludwig Woltmann, German zoologist
21 February – Paul Cassirer, art dealer
5 March – Rosa Luxemburg, German Jewish politician
27 March – Heinrich Mann, German writer
29 March – Fritz Cassirer, conductor
13 April – Otto Treßler, German actor
21 April – Leo Blech, German composer and conductor
6 May – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet
18 May – Fanny zu Reventlow, German artist and writer
30 May – Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe, sovereign of the Principality of Lippe
12 June – Ernst Stromer, German paleontologist

July to December

13 August – Karl Liebknecht, German politician
21 August – Hugo Graf [von und zu Lerchenfeld auf Köfering und Schönberg], German politician
14 September – Karl Joseph Schulte, cardinal of Roman Catholic Church
19 September – Fritz Schaudinn, German zoologist
20 December – Andreas Blunck, German politician

Deaths

4 February – Hermann, Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, German nobleman
18 March – Georg Gottfried Gervinus, German politician, literary and political historian
4 April – Peter von Hess, German painter
23 April – Ignaz von Olfers, German historian and naturalist
22 May – Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt, German nobleman