Dr. Marius Jacobs, a senior staff member of the Rijksherbarium, died suddenly on 28 April 1983, following a heart attack some days earlier. He was only 53 years old and his death came as a great shock, not only to his colleagues at our institute. Jacobs was a many-sided man with interests in many fields. In each of these he held definite opinions which were based on a thorough knowledge of the subject. So he could not easily be shaken from his views when it came to a discussion.