Editing Louis Kahn (section)

===Early life===
[[File:JesseOslerHouseElkinsParkPA.jpg|thumb|Jesse Oser House, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania (1940)]]
Louis Kahn, whose original name was Itze-Leib (Leiser-Itze) Schmuilowsky (Schmalowski), was born into a poor Jewish family in the [[Russian Empire]] (present-day Estonia). His exact birthplace is disputed, but it is widely regarded to be [[Kuressaare]], Saaremaa,<ref>[http://ekspress.delfi.ee/areen/kus-sundis-louis-kahn?id=69018591 Kus sündis Louis Kahn?]</ref> although some sources mention [[Pärnu]].<ref>[http://en.nai.nl/content/1286439/biography Kahn biography]</ref>

He spent his early childhood in Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, then part of the Russian Empire's [[Governorate of Livonia|Livonian Governorate]]. At the age of three, he saw coals in the stove and was captivated by the light of the coal. He put the coal in his apron, which caught on fire and burned his face.<ref name="Scars">{{cite web| url=http://paber.ekspress.ee/viewdoc/48EBEEC2DFC8B555C22571F1003A8A93| title=Kus sündis Louis Kahn?| publisher=Eesti Ekspress| language=et| access-date=September 28, 2006}}</ref> He carried these scars for the rest of his life.<ref>Commstock, Paul. [http://calitreview.com/224 "An Interview with Louis Kahn Biographer Carter Wiseman,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725065117/http://calitreview.com/224 |date=July 25, 2011 }} ''California Literary Review''. June 15, 2007.</ref>

In 1906, his family emigrated to the United States, as they feared that his father would be recalled into the military during the [[Russo-Japanese War]]. His birth year may have been inaccurately recorded in the process of immigration. According to his son's 2003 documentary film, the family could not afford pencils. They made their own charcoal sticks from burnt twigs so that Louis could earn a little money from drawings.<ref name="sons">[http://www20.sbs.com.au/whatson/?date=2008-01-15&channelID=1 ''My Architect: A Son's Journey''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102073830/http://www20.sbs.com.au/whatson/?date=2008-01-15&channelID=1 |date=January 2, 2008}}, SBS Hot Docs, January 15, 2008</ref> Later he earned money by playing piano to accompany silent movies in theaters. He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the U.S. on May 15, 1914. His father changed their name to Kahn in 1915.<ref name="sons"/>