Rabbi, educator, and leader of Reform Judaism. A descendant of a family of rabbis, Kohler was born in Fuerth, Bavaria. He studied in Frankfurt-am-Main under the Orthodox philosopher Samson Raphael Hirsch. Later, he came under the influence of the famous Reform leader Abraham Geiger, who urged him to go to America. He arrived in the U.S. in 1869 and held Reform pulpits in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Kohler convened the conference of 1885, which drew up the “Pittsburgh Platform,” a statement of Reform views which retained its influence until the late 1930’s. He introduced Sunday services into his temples. Kohler was President of Hebrew Union College and of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He also served as editor of the Jewish Publication Society‘s 1917 translation of the Bible.