1887 in Germany

National level • Emperor – William I • Chancellor – Otto von Bismarck State level Kingdoms • King of Bavaria – 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 (regent) • 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) – Julius Freiherr von Soden (1st term) to 13 May, then Jesko von Puttkamer (1st term) to 4 October, then Eugen von Zimmerer (1st term) • German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) – Karl Peters (administrator) • German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) – Gustav von Oertzen (commissioner) to January; also Georg Freiherr von Schleinitz (Landeshauptleute of the German New Guinea Company) • German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) – Heinrich Ernst Göring (acting commissioner) • Togoland – Ernst Falkenthal (commissioner) to May, then from July Jesko von Puttkamer (acting commissioner) (1st term) • Wituland (Deutsch-Witu) – Gustav Denhardt (resident) ==Events==

• 21 February – German federal election, 1887 • 18 June – Reinsurance Treaty in Berlin • 29 September – Football club Hamburger SV was founded. Undated • The Petri dish is created by German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri. • Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect on the production and reception of electromagnetic waves in radio, an important step towards the understanding of the quantum nature of light. • Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick invents the contact lens, made of a type of brown glass. • Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt is founded. • Friedrich Loeffler creates Löffler's serum, a coagulated blood serum used for the detection of the bacteria. ==Births==

• 1 January – Wilhelm Canaris, German Imperial admiral and head of the German Abwehr (died 1945) • 3 January – August Macke, German painter (died 1914) • 7 January – Thomas Wimmer, German politician (died 1964) • 29 January – Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, German nobleman (died 1949) • 6 February – Josef Frings, German cardinal of Roman Catholic Church (died 1978) • 8 February – Heinrich Spoerl, German author (died 1955) • 20 March – Walther Kittel, Wehrmacht general (died 1971) in Metz, modern-day France • 21 March – Erich Mendelsohn, German architect (died 1953) • 2 April – Louise Schroeder, German politician (died 1957) • 19 April – Wolrad, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, German nobleman (died 1962) • 2 June – Gottlieb Hering, Nazi concentration camp commandant (died in 1945) • 13 June – Bruno Frank, German author, poet, dramatist and humanist (died 1945) • 20 June – Kurt Schwitters, German artist (died 1958) • 23 June – Ernst Rowohlt, German publisher (died 1960) • 22 July – Gustav Ludwig Hertz, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975) • 25 July – Carl Freiherr von Langen, German equestrian (died 1934) • 8 August – Gertrud Morgner, German politician (died 1978) • 9 August – Hans Oster, German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who was also a leading figure of the German resistance (died 1945) • 22 August – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German politician (died 1977) • 3 September – Max Brauer, German politician (died 1973) • 22 September – Hans Schlossberger, German physician (died 1960) • 23 September – Wilhelm Hoegner, German politician (died 1980) • 10 November – Hans Ehard, German politician (died 1980) • 11 November – Walther Wever, German general, pre-World War II Luftwaffe commander (died 1936) • 24 November – Erich von Manstein, German commander of the Wehrmacht,(died 1973) • 6 December – Heinrich von Vietinghoff, German general (died 1952) • 28 December – Walter Ruttmann, German director (died 1941) ==Deaths==

• 17 July – Walther Otto Müller, German botanist (born 1833) • 14 August – Adolf Pansch, German anatomist (born 1841) • 29 September – Bernhard von Langenbeck, German surgeon (born 1819) • 17 October – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (born 1824) ==References==