The Beers were a prominent Jewish family in Berlin in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Jakob Herz Beer was a banker in Berlin and was married to Amalia Beer (1776-1854), a famous saloniere. The three sons:
Jakob Meyer Beer, better known as Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), was a composer, remembered mainly for his grand operas. In 1842 he became the director of the Berlin Opera.
Michael Beer (1800-1833) was a poet and playwright. Beer's plays were performed at the Berlin Hoftheater and in Vienna.
Wilhelm Beer (1797-1850) was an astronomer, best known for his research on the surface of the moon; he joined and later succeeded his father in the family banking house.
From the guide to the Beer-Meyerbeer Family Collection, 1667-1996, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)
