Julius Kahn

Julius Kahn (March 8, 1874 – November 4, 1942) was an American engineer, industrialist, and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Kahn system, a reinforced concrete engineering technique for building construction. The Kahn system, which he patented in 1903, was used worldwide for housing, factories, offices and industrial buildings. He formed his own company, Trussed Concrete Steel Company, as a manufacturing source for his inventions. He also founded United Steel Company and was chairman of Truscon Laboratories. Early life and education Kahn was born in Münstereifel, Germany, March 8, 1874. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1880, entering at the port of Baltimore, Maryland, where they briefly lived. They continued to Detroit, Michigan, where he was raised, along with five brothers and two sisters. Their father Joseph (1860–1924) was a rabbi and ran a restaurant where Julius worked; he also sold newspapers. Mother Rosalie was skilled in music and art. Kahn's elementary education was in Detroit Public Schools. He completed the normal four-year high school curriculum in three years. Kahn, assisted financially by his older brother, architect Albert, attended the University of Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Science and a degree in Civil Engineering in 1896.