•
12 February –
German-Spanish Treaty •
14 March –
Kaiser Wilhelm II takes direct command of the
Imperial Navy. •
March 16 – Memorial ceremonies are held for the burial of the late German hero
Otto von Bismarck and his wife,
Johanna von Puttkamer with their re-interment at the
Bismarck Mausoleum, a modern-day tourist attraction at
Friedrichsruh in
Aumühle. Bismarck, who had died on July 30 last, had been buried along with his wife at the estate of his home in Varzin, the modern-day city of
Warcino in
Poland. •
1 April – The
German Imperial Army is expanded with the establishment of the
XIX (2nd Royal Saxon) Corps, the
XVIII Corps and the
37th,
38th,
39th and
40th Divisions. •
2 April – The
Hamburg America Line cruise ship begins its maiden voyage. •
4 April – Warship
SMS Jaguar, which will be scuttled after losing the 1914
Siege of Tsingtao, begins service. •
18 April – Cargo ship
SS Saxonia launched. •
1 June – Battleship launched. •
18 July – Light cruiser launched. •
19 August – A bill to construct the proposed Dortmund-Rhine Canal in Germany fails overwhelmingly in the lower house of parliament. •
20 September – Ocean liner
SS Rhein launched. •
9–
14 October – The
Hanover Congress of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany is held. •
18 October – Battleship launched. •
18 October – Battleship launched. •
25 November – Transport ship
SS Hamburg launched. •
2 December: • The
Tripartite Convention, which brings an end to the
Samoan Civil War by dividing the islands between Germany and the
United States of America, is signed by Germany, the United States and the
United Kingdom, pursuant to which the colony of
German Samoa in established in 1900. • Transport ship
SS Grosser Kurfürst, launched. •
December 5 – Germany's cabinet agrees to repeal a Prussian law that had prohibited the creation of political societies or clubs. •
11 December – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Bernhard von Bülow delivers his 'hammer and anvil' speech to the
Reichstag calling for Germany to continue its drive to becoming one of the world's greatest powers. The speech was greeted with rapture from the right and anger from the left. •
31 December – The German government and Kaiser
Wilhelm II declare that the
20th century will begin on January 1, 1900. In most of the world the
19th century also includes
1900.
Undated • The political career of future Chancellor
Wilhelm Marx of the
Centre Party begins when he is elected to the
Prussian Landtag. • The
German–Spanish Treaty is signed, ending the interests of
Spain in the
Pacific Ocean and ensuring German control of the
Caroline Islands, the
Mariana Islands and
Palau. •
Max Wolf and
Friedrich Karl Arnold Schwassmann discover the asteroids
442 Eichsfeldia,
443 Photographica,
446 Aeternitas,
447 Valentine,
448 Natalie,
449 Hamburga and
450 Brigitta at the
University of Heidelberg. • The chemist
Felix Hoffmann patents the drug
aspirin. •
Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft began
archaeological excavations of
Babylon. • The 80 cm
refracting telescope is completed at
Potsdam Observatory. • Biologist
Ernst Haeckel published his
Kunstformen der Natur. • Two ships of the of protected cruiser are commissioned—the lead ship of the class in February and in September. • The ocean liner
SS Köln is launched. • The automotive company
Hella is established under the name
Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft. • The
Horch car company is established at
Ehrenfeld (Cologne) by
August Horch and his partner Salli Herz. ==Popular culture==