Itze-Leib (Schmuilowsky) Kahn (1901 - 1974)

Born 20 Feb 1901 in Kuressaare, Saaremaa, Livonia, Russian Empire

Died 17 Mar 1974 at age 73 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Louis Isadore (Schmuilowsky) Kahn is Notable.

Louis Isadore (Schmuilowsky) Kahn was born in Estonia.

Louis Kahn was an Estonian-born American architect who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential architects of the twentieth century. He was known for his powerful, massive forms and his influence on modern architecture.^[1]

Louis Isador Kahn was born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky in 1901. The exact location is not certain, but was likely on the island of Saaremaa, then part of the Livonian Governate, Russian Empire, now Estonia.^[1]

His parents were Leopold and Bertha Schmuilowsky. On his father's 1915 US naturalization petition, Louis's birthdate is listed as 20 Feb 1901 in Pernow, Russia.^[2]

He spent his early childhood in Saaremaa. At age three, he was accidentally burned, and left with facial scars.^[1]

His family emigrated to the United States in 1904^[2] or 1906.^[3]

His parents changed the family name to Kahn in America.

In the 1910 US census, Louis Kahn (age 9, born Russia) was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, with parents Leopold Kahn (34) and Bertha Kahn (33), and siblings Sarah (8) and Oscar (6), and with uncle Morris Kahn (27).^[3]

He completed his Bachelor of Architecture in 1924, and began his career working as senior draftsman. He developed his distinctive architectural style in his fifties. He became a professor at Yale University in 1947, and later taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University. He received several wards and honors, including being elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1953.

In the 1930 US census, Louis Kahn (age 29, born Latvia) was living in Philadelphia, with parents Leopold Kahn (56) and Bertha Kahn (54). He was an architect.^[4]

In the 1940 US census, Louis I Kahn (age 50, born Finland?), was living in Philadelphia, with his mother in law Annie S Israeli (70), wife Esther V Kahn (44), daughter Sue Ann Kahn (10) and roomer Katherine A McMichael (70). He was an architect.^[5]

Louis Kahn had three children: daughter Sue Ann with his wife Esther, daughter Alexandra with Anne Tyng, and son Nathaniel Kahn with Harriet Pattison.^[1]

Louis Kahn died of a heart attack in Penn Station, Manhattan, New York, in 1974.^[6]

Notes

Famous Buildings by Louis Kahn:

• Yale University Art Gallery, 1951-53 (New Haven, Connecticut)
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 1959-65 (La Jolla, California
• Kimbell Art Museum, 1966-72 (Fort Worth, Texas)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, 1973-2012 (Roosevelt Island, New York)
• Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban or National Parliament House, 1962-83 (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Wikipedia:Louis Khan
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Pennsylvania, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1795-1931", The National Archives in Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2717 #386653 (accessed 16 July 2023), Name: Leopold Schmulowsky; Petition Age: 39; Record Type: Naturalization Petition; Birth Date: 24 May 1875; Birth Place: Russia; Arrival Date: 1904; Arrival Place: Philadelphia; Petition Date: 29 Jan 1915; Petition Place: Pennsylvania, USA; Naturalization Place: Pennsylvania, USA; Spouse: Bertha; Children: Louis Sarah Oscar.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "1910 United States Federal Census", Year: 1910; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1390; Page: 11b; Enumeration District: 0187; FHL microfilm: 1375403, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #122875234 (accessed 15 July 2023), Louis Kahn (9), single son, in household of Leopold Kahn (34) in Philadelphia Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Born in Russia.
4. ↑ "1930 United States Federal Census", Year: 1930; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0684; FHL microfilm: 2341846, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #55439100 (accessed 15 July 2023), Louis Kahn (29), single son, Archtect, in household of Leopold Kahn (56) at 2318 North 20th Street., Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Born in Latvia.
5. ↑ "1950 United States Federal Census", National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 3895; Page: 71; Enumeration District: 51-2970, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #236771494 (accessed 15 July 2023), Louis H Kahn Jr (50), married son-in-law, ModernBuilding Architect, in household of Annie S Israeli (70) in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Born in Ireland.
6. ↑ Goldberger, Paul (March 20, 1974). "Louis I. Kahn Dies; Architect was 73". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/20/archives/louis-i-kahn-dies-architect-was-73-louis-i-kahn-architect-dead-at.html