Leo Kahn

Early life

Kahn was born in Medford, Massachusetts, as the younger of two brothers. His parents, who were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, owned a wholesale food distributor. Kahn graduated from Malden High School in Malden, Massachusetts.

Kahn received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1938. He then obtained a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City in 1939. He worked a reporter in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and practiced public relations for political campaigns until he was drafted into the U.S. military in 1941 as the U.S. entered World War II. He was stationed in North Africa, Europe and Asia as a navigator for the Army Air Forces.

He and his brother, Albert Kahn, took over the family's wholesale business following the end of World War II. He became the sole owner of the business when his brother left the company to become a professor at Boston University.

Kahn married his first wife, Dorothy Davidson, in 1963 and had three children. The family resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, until Dorothy Kahn's death in 1975.

Kahn married Dorothy Davidson. After 11 years of marriage, Dorothy died in 1975. He later married Emily Gantt, who survived him. From his first marriage, Kahn had a daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, Daniel and Joseph. Joseph Kahn is a journalist and the executive editor of The New York Times. His stepdaughters were Lisa and Xandria Birk. Kahn had eight grandchildren and three step grandchildren. Leo Kahn was on the board of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.