Kaufmann Kohler

Born in Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria (today in Germany), Kaufmann Kohler received an Orthodox education and upbringing. After earning rabbinical ordination under the guidance of Samson Raphael Hirsch in Frankfurt, Kohler became drawn to the writing of Abraham Geiger, leader of the Reform movement. Kohler immigrated to the United States in 1869, accepting a rabbinical position in Detroit, where he remained until 1871. He moved to Chicago and then, in 1879, to New York City. Kohler helped organize the Pittsburgh rabbinical conference in 1885, which laid out the main precepts of Reform Judaism in the United States. From 1903 to 1921, he served as president of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He died in New York City.