1884 in Germany

Events in the year 1884 in Germany.

National level

 * Kaiser – William I
 * Chancellor – Otto von Bismarck

Kingdoms

 * King of Bavaria – Ludwig II
 * 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 – William, Duke of Brunswick to 18 October, then Duchy claimed by Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who was excluded and a temporary council of regency was established.
 * 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) from 14 July – Gustav Nachtigal (commissioner) to 19 July, then Maximilian Buchner (acting commissioner)
 * German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) from 24 April – Adolf Lüderitz (magistrate) to 7 October, then Gustav Nachtigal (commissioner)
 * Togoland from 5 July – Gustav Nachtigal (commissioner) to 6 July October, then Heinrich Randad (provisional consul)

Events

 * 24 April – Territory in South West Africa is placed under German protection, becoming the first German colonial possession.
 * 9 June – The construction of the Reichstag building in Berlin started.
 * 5 July – German protectorate is first declared over part of Togoland.
 * 14 July – Commencement of German administration in Cameroon (Kamerun).
 * 28 October – German federal election, 1884
 * 15 November – The Berlin Conference which regulates European colonisation and trade in Africa begins (ends 26 February 1885).

Date unknown

 * German company Glastechnisches Laboratorium Schott & Genossen was founded, later becoming Schott AG

Science

 * Germany got the second part of world's oldest national social health insurance system by legislation of Otto von Bismarck's social legislation, which included the Accicential Insurance Bill of 1884.
 * Koch's postulates are four criteria designed to establish a causative relationship between a microbe and a disease. The postulates were formulated by Robert Koch and Friedrich Loeffler in 1884.
 * Paal-Knorr Synthesis was initially reported independently by German chemists Carl Paal and Ludwig Knorr as a method for the preparation of furans
 * Robert Koch resided and researched at Grant Medical College in Bombay, India, where he was able to determine the causative agent of cholera, isolating Vibrio cholerae.