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KAHN, Moritz (1879–1939), civil engineer, was born in Echternach, Luxembourg, the son of Rabbi Joseph Kahn and his wife Rosalie. The family moved to the United States in 1881, settling in Detroit.

Although an American citizen, who only spent a few years in Britain, Moritz Kahn made a major contribution to the development of reinforced concrete buildings, and particularly industrial buildings. This work needs to be placed in the context of that of his elder brothers in the United States. The eldest brother, Albert (1869–1942), became an architect and is principally known for the car and truck factories built with reinforced concrete frames, first for Packard and then more extensively for Henry Ford. However, his first buildings in reinforced concrete were the Palms Apartment House (1901–1903) and the University of Michigan Engineering Building. These were designed in collaboration with his younger brother Julius (1874–1942) who had trained as an engineer and who patented the system of reinforced concrete, the Kahn Trussed Bar. In 1903 they set up the Trussed Concrete Steel Company (Truscon) to promote and use this patent system in their buildings.