Events from the year 1848 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Incumbents

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

– Ludwig I. (until 20 March 1848); Maximilian II (since 20 March 1848) *

King of Hanover The King of Hanover (German: ''König von Hannover'') was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the Kingdom of Hanover, beginning with the proclamation of King George III of the United Kingdom, as "King of Hanover" dur ...

– Ernest Augustus *

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

–

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

– Frederick Augustus II

Events

* 17 March - Poem In Kümmernis und Dunkelheit was written in London by German poet Ferdinand Freiligrath. * February - Publication of

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...

* April - Hecker uprising in Baden * 9 April - Battle of Bov * 9 April - Foundation of

Münchner Neueste Nachrichten ''Münchner Neueste Nachrichten'' (Munich's Latest News) was a German daily newspaper published in Munich between 1848 and 1945. The paper was first published on 9 April 1848 as a cheap way to inform the masses. After its purchase by , the newsp ...

* 20 April -

Battle on the Scheideck The Battle on the Scheideck (german: Gefecht auf der Scheideck or ''Scheidegg''), also known as the Battle of Kandern (''Gefecht bei Kandern'') took place on 20 April 1848 during the Baden Revolution on the Scheideck Pass southeast of Kandern in ...

* 23 April -

Battle of Schleswig The Battle of Schleswig occurred near Dannevirke on Easter morning, 23 April 1848 as the second battle of the First Schleswig War of 1848–1850. Prussia had just entered the war and had sent almost 12,000 troops to Schleswig-Holstein. Countin ...

* 23 April - Battle of Mysunde * 24 April - Skirmish of Oversø * 1 May -

1848 German federal election Elections in Germany, Federal elections were held in all the States of the German Confederation, 38 states of the German Confederation on 1 May 1848 to elect members of a new National Assembly known as the Frankfurt Parliament. The ballot was not ...

* 7 May - Start of magazine Kladderadatsch * 11 May - Baden mutiny * 18 May - 379 deputies assembled in the Kaisersaal in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

walked solemnly to the

Paulskirche St Paul's Church (german: Paulskirche) is a former Protestant church in Frankfurt, Germany, used as a national assembly hall. Its important political symbolism dates back to 1848 when the Frankfurt Parliament convened there, the first publicl ...

to hold the first session of the German national assembly, under its chairman (by seniority)

Friedrich Lang Fregattenleutnant (Frigate Lieutenant) Friedrich Lang was a World War I flying ace. He emerged from obscurity to begin his military career in 1912 by training for sea duty. He was serving on SMS Balaton when World War I began. In March 1916, he tr ...

Heinrich von Gagern Heinrich Wilhelm August Freiherr von Gagern (20 August 179922 May 1880) was a statesman who argued for the unification of Germany. Early career The third son of Hans Christoph Ernst, Baron von Gagern, a liberal statesman from Nassau, Heinrich ...

became first elected president of

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

.Bundestag.de: Revolution und Frankfurter Nationalversammlung 1848/1849 (German)
/ref> * 1 June - Foundation of

Neue Rheinische Zeitung The ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy") was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between 1 June 1848 and 19 May 1849. It is recognised by historians as one of the ...

* 24 June - President of the National Assembly

argued for a regency and provisional central government to carry out parliamentary decisions. * 25 June - Forming of

Casino faction The Casino faction (in German ''Casino-Fraktion'' or simply ''Casino'') was a moderate liberal faction within the Frankfurt Parliament formed on June 25, 1848. Like most of the factions in the parliament, its name was a reference to the usual me ...

in Frankfurt Parliament:

Factions in the Frankfurt Assembly The factions in the Frankfurt Assembly were groups (german: Fraktionen) that developed among delegates to the Frankfurt Parliament that met from 18 May 1848 to 31 May 1849 in the Paulskirche, Frankfurt, Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main. They coale ...

* 21 September - Struve Putsch: Proclamation of the German Republic by

Gustav Struve Gustav Struve, known as Gustav von Struve until he gave up his title (11 October 1805 in Munich, Bavaria – 21 August 1870 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary), was a German surgeon, politician, lawyer and publicist, and a revolutionary during the Germa ...

Lörrach Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including t ...

* 21 October - Würzburg Bishops' Conference * 5 December - Promulgated of

Constitution of Prussia (1848) The Constitution of Prussia (german: Verfassungsurkunde für den preußischen Staat), was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was promulgated on 5 December 1848 by Frederick William IV, in response to the revolutions of 1848. The ...

Undated

Forty-Eighters The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In the German Confederation, the Forty-Eighters favoured unification of Germany, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human r ...

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated pro ...

Baden Revolution The Baden Revolution (german: Badische Revolution) of 1848/1849 was a regional uprising in the Grand Duchy of Baden which was part of the revolutionary unrest that gripped almost all of Central Europe at that time. As part of the popular libera ...

* Foundation of Piusverein * Painting

Gnome Watching Railway Train ''Gnome Watching Railway Train'' (german: Gnom, Eisenbahn betrachtend) is an 1848 oil-on-wood painting by the German painter Carl Spitzweg. Description A small gnome with a grey beard and a pointed hat stands at the entrance of a cave at a high ...

Carl Spitzweg Carl Spitzweg (February 5, 1808 – September 23, 1885) was a German romanticist painter, especially of genre subjects. He is considered to be one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era. Life and career Spitzweg was born in U ...

* Painting Germania (St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main) * Opera Regina by German composer

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

Births

* 10 January -

Paul Tschackert Paul Tschackert (10 January 1848 – 7 July 1911) was a German Protestant theologian and church historian born in Freystadt, Silesia. He is largely remembered for studies involving the history of the Protestant Reformation. Tschackert studied his ...

, German Protestant theologian (died

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

) * 12 January -

Franz von Soxhlet Franz Ritter von Soxhlet (January 12, 1848 Brno – May 5, 1926 Munich) was a German agricultural chemist from Brno. He invented the Soxhlet extractor in 1879 and in 1886 he proposed pasteurization be applied to milk and other beverages. Soxhl ...

, German agricultural chemist (died

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

) * 2 February - Ludwig Dill, German painter (died

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

) * 4 February -

Hermann von Hatzfeldt Prince Hermann von Hatzfeldt, Duke of Trachenburg (4 February 1848, Trachenberg – 14 January 1933) was a German nobleman, member of the House of Hatzfeld, civil servant and politician. He represented the Deutsche Reichspartei in the Reichsta ...

, German nobleman and politician (died 1933) * 5 February -

Louis Schmeisser Louis Schmeisser (5 February 1848, Zöllnitz – 23 March 1917) was one of the best-known weapon technical designers of Europe. He is associated with the development and production of the Bergmann machine guns used during the First World War. ...

, German weapon technical designer (died

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

) * 6 February -

Wilhelm von Finck Wilhelm von Finck (born 6 February 1848 - 4 April 1924) was a German entrepreneur and banker. Finck was a co-founder of the German companies Allianz and Munich Re. Life In Frankfurt am Main, he was a student at the Hasselsche Institut. He w ...

, German banker and entrepreneur (died

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

) * 7 February - Adolf Weil, German physician (died

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

) * 13 February – Hermann von Eichhorn, German field marshal (died 1918) * 25 February – King

William II of Württemberg , spouse = , issue = Pauline, Princess of WiedPrince Ulrich , house = Württemberg , father = Prince Frederick of Württemberg , mother = Princess Catherine of Württemberg , birth_date = , birth_place = St ...

(died 1921) * 3 March - Gustav Fischer, German explorer (died

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

) * 27 April – King

Otto of Bavaria Otto of Bavaria may refer to: * Otto I, Duke of Swabia and Bavaria (955–982) * Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020–1083) * Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (1117–1183) * Otto VIII, Count Palatine of Bavaria (before 1180 – 7 March 1209) * Otto II ...

(died

) * 23 May -

Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...

, German engineer, aviation pioneer (died

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

) * 23 May -

Helmuth von Moltke the Younger Graf Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke (; 25 May 1848 – 18 June 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general and Chief of the Great German General Staff. He was also the nephew of '' Generalfeldmarschall'' ''Graf'' Helmuth ...

, German general (died

) * 3 July –

Lothar von Trotha General Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxe ...

, German military commander (died 1920) * 22 July -

Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , spouse = , issue = Marie, Princess Julius Ernst of Lippe Jutta, Crown Princess of Montenegro Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-StrelitzDuke Karl Borwin , father = Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklen ...

(died

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

) * 7 September - Berta Behrens, German novelist (died 1912) * 8 September –

Viktor Meyer Viktor Meyer (8 September 18488 August 1897) was a German chemist and significant contributor to both organic and inorganic chemistry. He is best known for inventing an apparatus for determining vapour densities, the Viktor Meyer apparatus, and ...

, German chemist (died

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...

) * 18 September - Maximilian Nitze, German urologist (died

) * 20 September –

Friedrich Soennecken Friedrich Soennecken (20 September 1848 – 2 July 1919) was an entrepreneur and inventor. He was the founder of Soennecken, a German office supplier. Soennecken was born in Iserlohn-Dröschede, Sauerland in 1848, the son of a blacksmith. On ...

, German entrepreneur, inventor of the hole punch and ringbinder (died

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

) * 8 November –

Gottlob Frege Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (; ; 8 November 1848 – 26 July 1925) was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic ph ...

, German logician (died

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

) * 23 November - Habbo Gerhard Lolling, German archaeologist (died

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

) * 27 November –

Maximilian von Prittwitz Maximilian “Max” Wilhelm Gustav Moritz von Prittwitz und Gaffron (27 November 1848 – 29 March 1917) was an Imperial German general. He fought in the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, and briefly in the First World War. Fami ...

, German general (died

) * 22 December -

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literature ...

, German classical philologist (died

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

)

Deaths

* 9 January –

Caroline Herschel Caroline Lucretia Herschel (; 16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German born British astronomer, whose most significant contributions to astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigolle ...

, German astronomer (born 1750) * 22 January -

Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider (February 11, 1776 in Gersdorf, Saxony – January 22, 1848 in Gotha, Thuringia) was a German Protestant scholar and theologian from Gersdorf, Saxony. He is noted for, among other things, having planned and founded the ...

, German Protestant scholar and theologian (born

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * Januar ...

) * 15 February –

Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen (20 June 1771 – 15 February 1848) was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century. He also served as minister of war of Prussia in the period 1810-1813 and later agai ...

, Prussian field marshal (born

1771 Events January– March * January 5 – The Great Kalmyk ( Torghut) Migration is led by Ubashi Khan, from the east bank of the Lower Volga River back to the homeland of Dzungaria, at this time under Qing Dynasty rule. * January ...

) * 22 February – Wilhelmine Reichard, first German woman balloonist (born

1788 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London. * January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S ...

) * 24 May –

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (; 10 January 179724 May 1848), was a 19th-century German poet, novelist, and composer of Classical music. She was ...

, German writer (born

1797 Events January–March * January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796). * January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine ...

) * 10 July – Karoline Jagemann, German actress (born

1777 Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...

) * 18 September -

Hans Adolf Erdmann von Auerswald Hans Adolf Erdmann von Auerswald (1792 – September 18, 1848) was a Prussian general and politician. Biography Auerswald was born in Faulen, West Prussia where the family possessed the estates of Plauth and Tromnau. He entered the Prussi ...

, Prussian general (born

1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...

) * 9 November –

Robert Blum Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism a ...

, German politician (born

1810 Events January–March * January 1 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. * January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island, in the Subantarctic. * Jan ...

) * 28 November -

Duchess Amelia of Württemberg Duchess Amelia of Württemberg (; 28 June 179928 November 1848) was a Duchess of Württemberg and an ancestor of the British, Greek, Romanian, Yugoslavian and Spanish Royal Families. She was a daughter of Duke Louis of Württemberg and Princess He ...

, German noblewoman (born

1799 Events January–June * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * Janu ...

) * 16 December - Bruno Erhard Abegg, German politician and statesman (born

1803 Events * January 1 – The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's ''Almanach des gourmands'', the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris. * January 5 – William Symington demonstrates his ...

) * 31 December -

Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann (28 November 1772 – 31 December 1848) was a German classical scholar and philologist. He published his works under the name Gottfried Hermann or its Latin equivalent . Biography He was born in Leipzig. Entering ...

, German philologist (born

1772 Events January–March * January 10 – Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor of India, makes a triumphant return to Delhi 15 years after having been forced to flee. * January 17 – Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline ...

) * undated -

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

, German explorer in Australia (born

1813 Events January–March * January 18–January 23 – War of 1812: The Battle of Frenchtown is fought in modern-day Monroe, Michigan between the United States and a British and Native American alliance. * January 24 – T ...

)

External links

Bundestag.de: Revolution und Frankfurter Nationalversammlung 1848/1849 (German)

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Revolution von 1848 (German)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1848 Years of the 19th century in Germany

1848 in Germany Events from the year 1848 in Germany. Incumbents * King of Bavaria – Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I. (until 20 March 1848); Maximilian II of Bavaria, Maximilian II (since 20 March 1848) * King of Hanover – Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, Ern ...