Jacob Marcus

Jacob Marcus, also called R. Jakob, was a German-Swedish businessman and one of the pioneers in the history of Sweden's Jewish population, which began to take root around the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.

[1] That and his general benefit to Sweden, as a merchant especially privileged by King Gustav III, and his position as an East Gothland property owner and community leader, have been recorded in published biographical articles.

A number of famous Swedes have descended from Marcus and his wife Fredrika Isaksdotter (1760-1826, originally Freideh Isaac), such as historian Hugo Valentin, TV producer Gunilla Marcus-Luboff, the Bonnier publishing dynasty, opera star Isa Quensel, industrialist Stefan Anderson, photographer Mattias Klum, pop entertainer Magnus Uggla.

[3] American botanist-author Siri von Reis in New York and daughter Serena Altschul also descend from Marcus.

Beginning around that time, Jewish descent (no matter how diluted) was kept in low profile, especially during World War II, despite Sweden's neutrality.

Jacob Marcus painted in oils by an unknown master around 1792.
The Marcus Building family seat on the Motala River , before demolition in 1917, and the same corner in 2009.