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| 1871 | Birth |  |
| 4th Feb Heidelberg Birth of Friedrich Ebert |
| 1905 | Party Secretary | |
| Appointed Party Secretary of the Social Democratic Party |
| 1912 | Election | |
| Berlin Elected Member of the Reichstag |
| 1913 | Chairman SDP | |
| Appointed Chairman of the SDP |
| 1913 | Declaration of War | |
| Persuades the SDP to vote for war credits to defend Germany from the Tsarist autocracy |
| 1916 | Declaration of War | |
| Berlin Supports defending German territory, including Alsace & Lorraine, non-annexationist |
| Berlin The Party is split by Ebert's opposition to the minority anti-war caucus of the SDP |
| 1916 | Reichstag | |
| Berlin Appointed Party Leader in the Reichstag |
| 1917 | Dismissal | |
| Oct Berlin Calls for the dismissal of the Chancellor, Georg Michaelis |
| 1917 | Peace | |
| Berlin Helps draft the Reichstag Peace Resolution |
| 1918 | Alliance | |
| 9th Nov Berlin Ebert makes a pact over the phone with General Wilhelm Groener |
| 1918 | Armistice | |
| 9th Nov Berlin Begins preparations for drawing up an armistice with the Allies |
| 9th Nov The Allies demand evacuation of all occupied territories including Alsace Lorraine |
| 9th Nov River Rhine The Allies demand the demilitarization of the Rhineland & annulment Brest-Litovsk |
| 11th Nov River Rhine German troops begin their withdrawal to the Rhine |
| 11th Nov Compiegne Germany agrees to the armistice & firing stops on the western front at 11 am |
| 11th Nov Compiegne The armistice is signed in a railway carriage at 5:00 AM |
| 1918 | Chancellor | |
| 9th Nov Berlin Appointed Chancellor of Germany, accepts Max von Baden's offer |
| 9th Nov Berlin Appointed Head of the Provisional Government |
| 1918 | Constitution | |
| 31st July Berlin the 1871 constitution is amended to make the Reich a parliamentary democracy, which the government had refused for half a century, the Chancellor is henceforth responsible to Parliament, the Reichstag, and no longer to the Kaiser |
| 31st July Berlin The plan to transform Germany into a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain quickly becomes obsolete as the country slid into a state of near-total chaos |
| 31st July Berlin The Weimar Republic is adopted |
| 29th Oct Berlin Rebellion breaks out when the military command, without consultation with the government, orders the German High Seas Fleet to sortie |
| 9th Nov Berlin Begins preparations for elections to the new National Constitutional Assembly |
| 9th Nov From November 1918 through January 1919, Germany is governed dictatorially by the Council of People's Commissioners |
| 9th Nov Berlin In a legally questionable act, Reichskanzler Prince Max of Baden transfers his powers to Friedrich Ebert, leader of the MSPD, who, shattered by the monarchy's fall, reluctantly accepts |
| 9th Nov Berlin Opposes Scheidemann's declaration of a republic, wants a constitutional monarchy |
| 9th Nov The Ebert-Groener pact stipulates that the government would not attempt to reform the Army so long as the army swore to protect the state |
| 9th Nov To ensure that his fledgling government is able to maintain control over the country, Ebert makes an uneasy pact with the OHL, now led by Ludendorff's successor General Wilhelm Groener |
| 10th Nov A coalition government called "Council of People's Commissioners" (Rat der Volksbeauftragten) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members, led by Ebert for the MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD |
| 10th Nov Berlin Calls for a National Constitutional Assembly |
| 12th Nov Berlin Proclaims the aims of the new German regime |
| 1918 | Council of People's Commissioners | |
| 9th Nov From November 1918 through January 1919, Germany is governed dictatorially by the Council of People's Commissioners |
| 10th Nov A coalition government called "Council of People's Commissioners" (Rat der Volksbeauftragten) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members, led by Ebert for the MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD |
| 1918 | CPR Ebert | |
| Berlin Appointed Member of the Council of People's Representatives |
| 1918 | Government | |
| 10th Nov Forms a provisional executive of mainstream SDP & Independent Socialists |
| 1918 | National Assembly | |
| 16th Dec Ebert manages to enforce quick elections for a National Assembly to produce a constitution for a parliamentary system, marginalizing the movement that called for a socialist republic |
| 1918 | National Congress of Councils | |
| 16th Dec Ebert calls for a National Congress of Councils, which take place from December 16 to December 20, 1918, and in which the MSPD had the majority |
| 16th Dec Ebert manages to enforce quick elections for a National Assembly to produce a constitution for a parliamentary system, marginalizing the movement that called for a socialist republic |
| 1918 | Pact | |
| 9th Nov The Ebert-Groener pact stipulates that the government would not attempt to reform the Army so long as the army swore to protect the state |
| 1918 | Party Leader | |
| Appointed Party Leader of the Social Democratic Party |
| 1918 | Rebellion | |
| Groener agrees to support Ebert against the Bolsheviks |
| 29th Oct Rebellion breaks out when the military command, without consultation with the government, orders the German High Seas Fleet to sortie |
| 29th Oct Wilhelmshaven The crews of two ships in Wilhelmshaven mutiny, when the military arrest about 1,000 seamen and have them transported to Kiel, the Wilhelmshaven mutiny turns into a general rebellion that quickly swept over most of Germany |
| 7th Nov Munich The revolution had reaches Munich, causing King Ludwig III of Bavaria to flee |
| 1918 | Reparations | |
| At the conclusion of World War I, Germany reluctantly agrees to pay unspecified reparations in the armistice agreement of November 1918 |
| 1918 | Weimar Republic | |
| Berlin The new model Reichswehr armed forces, limited by the Treaty of Versailles to 100,000 army soldiers and 15,000 seamen, remains fully under the control of the German officer class despite its nominal re-organisation |
| 31st July Berlin the 1871 constitution is amended to make the Reich a parliamentary democracy, which the government had refused for half a century, the Chancellor is henceforth responsible to Parliament, the Reichstag, and no longer to the Kaiser |
| 31st July Berlin The Weimar Republic is adopted |
| 29th Oct Berlin The crews of two ships in Wilhelmshaven mutiny, when the military arrest about 1,000 seamen and have them transported to Kiel, the Wilhelmshaven mutiny turns into a general rebellion that quickly swept over most of Germany |
| 7th Nov Berlin The revolution had reaches Munich, causing King Ludwig III of Bavaria to flee |
| 9th Nov Berlin In a legally questionable act, Reichskanzler Prince Max of Baden transfers his powers to Friedrich Ebert, leader of the MSPD, who, shattered by the monarchy's fall, reluctantly accepts |
| 1918 | Wilhelmshaven Mutiny | |
| 29th Oct Wilhelmshaven The crews of two ships in Wilhelmshaven mutiny, when the military arrest about 1,000 seamen and have them transported to Kiel, the Wilhelmshaven mutiny turns into a general rebellion that quickly swept over most of Germany |
| 1919 | Commander | |
| 11th Feb Berlin Appointed Commander-in-Chief |
| 1919 | Constitution | |
| Jan Weimar The Weimar Constitution creates a republic under a semi-presidential system with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation |
| 19th Jan Weimar To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convenes in the city of Weimar, giving the future Republic its unofficial name |
| 11th Aug Weimar The Republic's first Reichspr„sident ("Reich President"), Friedrich Ebert of the SPD, signs the new German constitution into law |
| 1919 | Election | |
| 19th Jan Elections are held for the National Constitutional Assembly |
| 19th Jan The National Assembly elections took place, the radical left-wing parties, including the USPD and KPD, are barely able to get themselves organized, leading to a solid majority of seats for the MSPD moderate forces |
| 19th Jan The Socialist and (Non-Socialist) Democratic parties obtained a solid 80 per cent of the vote |
| 1919 | National Assembly | |
| 19th Jan The National Assembly elections took place, the radical left-wing parties, including the USPD and KPD, are barely able to get themselves organized, leading to a solid majority of seats for the MSPD moderate forces |
| 19th Jan Weimar To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convenes in the city of Weimar, giving the future Republic its unofficial name |
| 1919 | President | |
| 11th Feb Appointed Provisional Reich President by the National Constitutional Assembly |
| 1919 | Spartacist League | |
| Armed attempts at establishing communism, known as the Spartacist uprising, by the Spartacist League and others in the streets of Berlin were put down by paramilitary Freikorps units consisting of volunteer soldiers |
| 15th Jan Bloody street fights culminated in the beating and shooting deaths of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht after their arrests |
| 1919 | Weimar Republic | |
| Jan Weimar The Weimar Constitution creates a republic under a semi-presidential system with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation |
| 19th Jan Weimar To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convenes in the city of Weimar, giving the future Republic its unofficial name |
| 1922 | Diplomacy | |
| 16th April A German-Russia treaty is signed in Italy, recognizes the Soviet Union |
| 1922 | Economy | |
| Oct France is willing to accept raw material instead of currency for German reparations |
| 1922 | Occupation Germany USA | |
| 20th Mar Rhineland President Harding orders the US. troops back from the Rhineland |
| 1922 | President | |
| Oct Appointed Reich President, 2nd term |
| 1922 | Reparations | |
| Oct France is willing to accept raw material instead of currency for German reparations |
| 1922 | Treaty of Germany Russia | |
| 16th April A German-Russia treaty is signed in Italy, recognizes the Soviet Union |
| 1923 | Economy | |
| Ruhr Occupation of the Ruhr leads to hyper-inflation |
| Ruhr The Republic claimed it could no longer afford the reparations payments required by the Versailles treaty, and the government defaulted on some payments, in response, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr |
| 15th Nov Ruhr A new currency, the Rentenmark, is introduced at the rate of 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) Papiermark for 1 Rentenmark. At that time, 1 U.S. dollar was equal to 4.2 Rentenmark |
| 1923 | Occupation Ruhr | |
| Ruhr The Ruhr is occupied by the French & Belgians after non-payment of reparations |
| 1924 | Trial | |
| 23rd Dec Magdeburg Convicted of complicity in a Jan 1918 strike at a munitions factory |
| 1925 | Death | |
| 12th Feb Berlin Death of Friedrich Ebert, from the effects of an appendicitis operation |
| 1973 | Head of State | |
| 1st Aug Berlin Appointed Head of State for the GDR |
