Judah L. Magnes occupied himself with many endeavors. He was a rabbi; an educator; an organizational leader; an independent-minded social activist and humanist.

Samuel Lilienthal was born in Munich, Germany, and became a pioneer American homeopathic physician.

The Oakland Jewish Relief Federation was founded in 1918 in an attempt to centralize Jewish relief work in the East Bay.

Edward Bransten was born in 1906 to Edward Brandenstein (b. 1870-d. 1948) and Florine (Haas) Brandenstein (b. 1881-d. 1973).

Levi Strauss, known as the world's largest clothing manufacturer, was founded by Levi Strauss, who arrived in San Francisco in 1850.

Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro was born in 1830, in Aachen, Prussia. After immigrating to the United States, he moved to San Francisco in 1850.

Motitz Winter was a rabbi in Germany for twenty-eight years. After the Nazis burned down his synagogue, he went to Shanghai, China and served the refugee Jewish community there for two years.

Sophie Gerstle Lilienthal was the daughter of Lewis (Lob) Gerstle and Hannah (Johannah) Greenebaum of San Francisco. On 27 Aug. 1879, she married Theodore Max Lilienthal.

When a group of San Francisco's Jews met in 1849 to participate in Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, the end result was the formation of San Francisco's congregations, Emanu-El and Sherith I

Adolph Pinto was born in Prussia in 1817 and immigrated to California in 1852, during the Gold Rush.