1896 in Germany
Events in the year 1896 in Germany.Incumbents
National level
Kingdoms
- King of Bavaria – Otto of Bavaria
- King of Prussia – Kaiser Wilhelm II
- King of Saxony – Albert of Saxony
- King of Württemberg – William II of Württemberg
Grand Duchies
- Grand Duke of Baden – Frederick I
- Grand Duke of Hesse – Ernest Louis
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – Frederick Francis III
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Frederick William
- Grand Duke of Oldenburg – Peter II
- Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach – Charles Alexander
Principalities
- Schaumburg-Lippe – George, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
- Principality of Lippe – Alexander, Prince of Lippe
- Reuss Elder Line – Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz
- Reuss Younger Line – Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line
- Waldeck and Pyrmont – Friedrich, 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 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Duke of Saxe-Meiningen – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Colonial Governors
- Cameroon – Theodor Seitz '
- German East Africa – Hermann Wissmann to 3 December, then Eduard von Liebert
- German New Guinea – Hugo Rüdiger to 17 August, then from 22 September Curt von Hagen '
- German South-West Africa – Theodor Leutwein '
- Togoland – August Köhler '
Events
- 12 April – German football club Hannover 96 is founded.
- 1 June – Institut für Serumforschung und Serumprüfung in Berlin is opened.
Undated
- Gottlieb Daimler produces the first gasoline truck.
- Emperor William Monument in Porta Westfalica is completed.
- German physicist Wilhelm Wien derives the Wien approximation.
Births
- 11 January – Heinrich Stuhlfauth, German football player and goalkeeper
- 4 February – Friedrich Hund, German physicist
- 9 February – Erich Vagts, German politician
- 14 February – Werner Richard Heymann, German film composer
- 23 February – Herbert Weichmann, German politician
- 25 February – Ida Noddack, German chemist
- 2 March – Caesar von Hofacker, German colonel
- 22 March – Karl Dannemann, German actor
- 1 April – Wilhelm Sauter, German painter
- 13 May – Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- 20 May – Paul Kemp, German actor
- 9 June – Karl Sack, German jurist
- 16 July – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German physician
- 23 July – Reinhold Frank, German lawyer
- 19 August – Josef Kammhuber, German general
- 23 August – Hubert von Meyerinck, German actor
- 15 September – Theodor Haubach, German journalist
- 14 October – Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff, German police officer and politician
- 18 October – Friedrich Hollaender, German film composer and author
- 30 October – Roma Bahn, German actress
- 9 November – Hellmut von der Chevallerie, German general
- 28 November – Otto Graf, German actor
- 3 December – Carlo Schmid, German politician
- 18 December – Hans Otto Erdmann, German officer
- 27 December – Carl Zuckmayer, German writer and playwright
- 31 December – Carl Ludwig Siegel, German mathematician
Deaths
- January 5 - Anton Philipp Reclam, German publishers
- January 30 - Ernst Kapp, German philosopher and geographer
- 28 April – Heinrich von Treitschke, German historian
- 18 May – Otto von Camphausen, German politician
- 20 May – Clara Schumann, German musician and composer
- 2 June – Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs, German geographer, explorer and author
- 11 July – Ernst Curtius, German archaeologist and historian
- 13 July – August Kekulé, German chemist
- 10 August – Otto Lilienthal, German pioneer of aviation
- 13 August – Philipp Ludwig von Seidel, German mathematician
- 22 October – Christian Roos, German bishop of Roman-Catholic Church
- 3 November – Eugen Baumann, German chemist
- 19 November – Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, German politician
- 17 December – Paul Beiersdorf, German pharmacist
