Marcus Sachs (1812–1869) was a Polish Jew who emigrated to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and became Professor of Hebrew at the Free Church Divinity Hall in Aberdeen (later known as Christ's College).

Life

He was born the son of an engineer in Inowroclaw in the

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (; ) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from Prussian Partition, territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On 9 February 1 ...

in what is now central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He studied at Berlin University. He came to Britain in 1842 and converted to Christianity. He was baptised by Rev John Brown at Broughton Place church soon after arriving. He enrolled to train as a Free Church minister at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

in 1843. He began teaching Hebrew at the Free Church College in Aberdeen in 1846. He was made a Professor in 1855. He lived his final years at Kepplestone Cottage in Rubislaw, Aberdeen. He died at Polmuir in Aberdeen on 29 September 1869.

Family

In 1850, somewhat late in life, he married Mary Shier (1809-1915) a few years his senior. She was the daughter of David Shier, a surveyor in Aberdeen. They married at Old Machar, and did not have children. She married after he died, Francis Edmond, a Haddington advocate. She also outlived her second husband and died in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

aged 105, leaving a considerable fortune.Gazette Times 15 May 1915

Publications

*''The Prophetic Agency'' (1855) *''The Scattered Nation'' (joint author with Rev Adolph Saphir)

References

1812 births 1869 deaths Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Academics of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century Polish Jews {{UK-academic-bio-stub