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

Sources:

Verwey, E.J. (ed) (1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.

http://dev.sahistory.org.za/people/john-beaver-jb-marks