Jacques Offenbach

German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the originators of the operetta form, born 1819-06-20 in Cologne, Germany, died 1889-10-05 in Paris, France. Of German-Jewish ancestry (his father was the cantor Isaac Offenbach), he was one of the most influential composers of popular music in Europe in the 19th century, and many of his works remain in the repertory.