1880 in Germany
Events from the year 1880 in Germany.Incumbents
National 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 – Gonthier Frederick Charles II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to 17 July, then 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
- 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
Events
- 3 April – German company Munich Re is founded.
- 14 August – Construction of the Cologne Cathedral is finally completed after over 600 years.
Undated
- German company Bilfinger is founded.
Births
- 8 February – Franz Marc, German painter
- 21 February – Waldemar Bonsels, German writer
- 10 April – Hans Purrmann, German painter
- 6 May – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer
- 14 May – Wilhelm List, German field marshal
- 15 May – F. K. Otto Dibelius, German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg
- 29 May – Oswald Spengler, German historian
- 25 June – Erich Emminger, German politician
- 29 June – Ludwig Beck, German general
- 1 July – Herbert Koch, German archaeologist
- 3 July – Carl Schuricht, German conductor
- 11 July – Dorothea Köring, German tennis player
- 12 July – Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, Prussian nobleman
- 5 August – Hermann Lüdemann, German politician
- 30 August – Konrad von Preysing, German prelate of Roman-Catholic Church
- 14 September – Karl Kimmich, German banker
- 28 September – Otto Sackur, German physical chemist
- 14 October – Bruno Heinemann, German officer
- 1 November – Alfred Wegener, German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist
- 11 November – Alexander Behm, German physicist
- 20 November – Walter Brack, German swimmer
- 3 December – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal
Deaths
- 4 January – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter
- 4 January – Karl Friedrich Lessing, German painter
- 12 January – Ida, Countess von Hahn-Hahn, German author and novelist
- 12 February – Karl von Holtei, German poet and actor
- 15 February – Ernst August Hagen, German writer and novelist
- 17 February – Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy, German chemist
- 29 March – Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim, German publicist and philosophe
- 6 May – Friedrich Bayer, German entrepreneur
- 22 May – Heinrich von Gagern, German politician
- 13 June – Heinrich Strack, German architect
- 30 August – Hermann Anschütz, German painter
- 13 December – Martin Gropius, German architect