This Day in History: 21 March 1903
John Beaver (JB) Marks, teacher, trade unionist and political activist was born in Ventersdorp, Transvaal (now North West Province) on March 21 1903. He was the seventh child of an African railway worker, John Thelelwa Marks, and Betty Esau, who was of White descent. He identified as an African and was a staunch member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African national Congress (ANC).