1885 in Germany

Events in the year 1885 in Germany.

Incumbents

National level

• Kaiser — William I
• Chancellor — Otto von Bismarck

State level

Kingdoms

• King of Bavaria — Ludwig II of Bavaria
• King of Prussia — Kaiser William I
• King of Saxony — Albert of Saxony
• King of Württemberg — Charles I of Württemberg

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 (regent, appointed in 1885)
• 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 (Kamerun) — Maximilian Buchner (acting commissioner) to 1 April, then Eduard von Knorr (acting commissioner) to 4 July, then Julius Freiherr von Soden (governor) (1st term)
• German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) from 27 May — Karl Peters (administrator)
• German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) — Gustav von Oertzen (commissioner, appointed in 1885)
• German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) — Gustav Nachtigal (commissioner) to May 1885, then Heinrich Ernst Göring (acting commissioner)
• Togoland — Heinrich Randad (provisional consul) to 26 June, then Ernst Falkenthal (commissioner)
• Wituland (Deutsch-Witu) from 8 April — Gustav Denhardt (resident)

Events

• 17 February — German government grants an imperial charter to Carl Peters for establishment of a protectorate in East Africa.
• 26 February — The final act of the Berlin Conference regulates European colonization and trade in Africa.
• 26 March — Prussian deportations: the Prussian government orders the expulsion of all ethnic Poles and Jews holding Russian citizenship, later extended to include Polish Austrian citizens. More than 30,000 people are forced across the border.
• 3 April — Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his 1-cylinder water-cooled engine design.
• 8 April — The sultan of Witu, cedes 25 square miles of territory to German brothers Clemens and Gustav Denhardt, which becames the first German territory in Wituland.
• 27 May — The remainder of the Wituland becames the German Protectorate of Wituland (Deutsch-Witu).

Date unknown

The Benz Patent Motorwagen was built in 1885

• Karl Benz produces the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, regarded as the first automobile (patented and publicly launched the following year).
• Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach produce the Daimler Reitwagen, regarded as the first motorcycle.

Births

• 27 January — Eduard Künneke, German composer (died 1953)
• 1 February — Friedrich Kellner, German diarist, (died 1970)
• 14 May — Otto Klemperer, German conductor (died 1973)
• 21 May — Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, German-born consort of William of Wied, Prince of Albania (died 1936, Romania)
• 8 July - Hugo Boss, German fashion designer (died 1948)
• 20 November — Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of Germany 1930-1932 (died 1970, United States)

Deaths

• 17 June — Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel, German field marshal (born 1809)