Carl Wilhelm Kern was born on June 4, 1874 in Schlitz, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany and died in St. Louis on August 19, 1945. Kern was a pianist, theorist, editor and composer who studied at Mayence Conservatory of Music. He was first taught by his father Carl August Kern and then by Friedrich Lux, Paul Schmacher, and Adam Coy.

He came to the United States in 1893 and taught at Elmhurst (Ill.) College of Music, 1893-94; was an organist in Merrill, Wis., 1894-95; taught at Springfield (Ohio) School of Music 1895-98; and Dennison (Ohio) School of Music, 1898-1903. He concurrently served as supervisor of Music, Dennison (Ohio) Public Schools 1898-1903. He was in St. Louis briefly in 1903 before taking a position at Baptist University, Dallas Tex., 1903-04. He then returned to St. Louis to join the Strassberger’s Conservatory of Music from 1904 until 1922. In 1923 he joined the Ottmar Moll Piano School as Teacher of Theory.

Ernst Krohn states that Kern had published over one thousand pieces for piano. Other works include operettas, many songs, organ solos, and choral pieces.