1886 in Germany
Events in the year 1886 in Germany.
Incumbents
National level
State level
Kingdoms
- King of Bavaria – Ludwig II to 13 June, then Otto
- King of Prussia – William I
- King of Saxony – Albert
- King of Württemberg – Charles
Grand Duchies
- Grand Duke of Baden – Frederick I
- Grand Duke of Hesse – Louis IV
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – Frederick Francis II
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederick William
- Grand Duke of Oldenburg – Peter II
- Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach – Charles Alexander
Principalities
- Schaumburg-Lippe – Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – George Albert, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
- Principality of Lippe – 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
- Duke of Saxe-Altenburg – Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
- Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Duke of Saxe-Meiningen – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Colonial Governors
- Cameroon – Julius Freiherr von Soden '
- German East Africa – Karl Peters '
- German New Guinea – Gustav von Oertzen '; also from 10 June Georg Freiherr von Schleinitz '
- German South-West Africa – Heinrich Ernst Göring '
- Togoland – Ernst Falkenthal '
- Wituland – Gustav Denhardt ''''
Events
- 6 February – German chemist Clemens Winkler discovers chemical element Germanium.
- 14 November – Friedrich Soennecken files his patent for his holepunch Papierlocher für Sammelmappen.
- 15 November – Robert Bosch GmbH is founded.
Undated
- German Friedrich Soennecken invents the ring binder in Bonn.
- Neuschwanstein Castle is completed.
Births
Undated – Martin Laurello, German sideshow performer Undated – Otto Wunderlich, German landscape photographer- 2 January – Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel German general
- 25 January – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor and composer
- 14 February – Karl Reinhardt, German philologist
- 6 March – Fritz Goerdeler, German jurist
- 10 March – Eugen Klöpfer, German actor
- 18 March – Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, German Imperial Naval submarine captain in World War I and Kriegsmarine Rear admiral
- 27 March – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German architect
- 16 April – Ernst Thälmann, German politician
- 1 May – Walter Cramer, German businessman
- 2 May – Gottfried Benn, German poet and essayist
- 3 May – Kurt von Briesen, German general
- 5 June – Kurt Hahn, German educator
- 7 August – Paul Westheim, German art historian and publisher
- 15 August – Karl Korsch, German politician
- 19 August – Robert Heger, German conductor
- 20 August – Paul Tillich, Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran Protestant theologian
- 25 August – Johannes Stroux, German philologist and writer
- 14 September – Erich Hoepner, German general
- 20 September – Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German crown princess
- 4 October – Erich Fellgiebel, German general
- 7 October – Kurt Schmitt, German economic leader and the Reich Economy Minister
- 15 October – Rudolf von Marogna-Redwitz, German colonel
- 26 October – Hanns Braun, German athlete
- 6 November – Gus Kahn, German-American songwriter
- 7 November – Reinhold Schünzel, German actor
- 28 November – Cornelius van Oyen, German sport shooter
- 25 December:
- * Gotthard Heinrici, German general
- * Franz Rosenzweig, German theologian and philosopher
Deaths
- 9 April – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet and novelist
- 23 May – Leopold von Ranke, German historian
- 13 June – Ludwig II, King of Bavaria
- 31 July – Franz Liszt, Alleged Symphonic Lich)