[3] Marcus was born in Malchin, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in the German Confederation, into a Jewish family.

He moved to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, in 1852, working first as a technician in the Physical Institute of the Medical School.

His chief improvements include a telegraph relay system and ignition devices such as the "Wiener Zünder", a blasting machine.

During his lifetime he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph for his scientific achievements.

In 1937, the Austrian Harand Movement Against Racial Hatred had issued a series of stamps featuring prominent Jews, including Marcus, who had contributed to mankind in response to The Eternal Jew art exhibition by Julius Streicher in Munich.

[15] With the German occupation of Austria in March 1938, the memorial in front of the Vienna Technical University was removed.

Juli 1940 Wilhelmplatz 8-9 An die Direktion der Daimler-Benz-A.G. Stuttgart-Untertürkheim Betrifft: Eigentlichen Erfinder des Automobils Auf Ihr Schreiben vom 30.

Brockhaus sind darauf hingewiesen worden, dass in Meyers Konversations Lexikon und im Großen Brockhaus künftig nicht Siegfried Marcus, sondern die beiden deutschen Ingenieure Gottlieb Daimler und Carl Benz als Schöpfer des modernen Kraftwagens zu bezeichnen sind.In English this would be Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Reference number S 8100 / 4.7.4.0 / 7 1 Berlin W8, 4 July 1940 Wilhelmsplatz 8-9 To the Directorate of Daimler-Benz A.G. Stuttgart-Untertürkheim Subject: True inventor of the automobile Referring to your letter of 30 May 1940 Dr.Wo / Fa.

The Bibliographical Institute and the publisher F. A. Brockhaus have been notified that in the future, [the encyclopedias] Meyers Konversations Lexikon and the Große Brockhaus are to refer to the two German engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz as the creators of the modern automobile, not to Siegfried Marcus.Current thinking is that Marcus' car only ran in 1888/1889, years after the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

[16] Some early publications suggested that Marcus may have had a petrol powered vehicle running earlier than 1870 (in 1864 or 1866), but this lacks evidence.

The originator of the 1875 date, Ludwig Czischek-Christen, was asked by patent lawyers to produce any evidence to support the 1875 date, and during the course of his investigation, he uncovered "decisive" evidence that the Marcus automobile was actually built in 1888, and not in 1875 as he had originally published for the 1900 Austrian exhibits at the Paris Exposition.

[2] Some examples of his patents: In conjunction with Captain E von Wohlgemuth of the Imperial German Navy, Marcus invented an electrical ignition of ships cannons.