Kerry was born as Benno Kohn in
Vienna. He studied under
Ernst Laas and
Otto Liebmann at the
University of Strassburg and from 1877/78 under
Franz Brentano at the
University of Vienna. In 1881 he obtained his doctorate with the dissertation
Untersuchungen über das Causalproblem auf dem Boden einer Kritik der einschlägigen Lehren J. St. Mills ("Investigations concerning the problem of causality on the basis of a critique of the relevant doctrines of
John Stuart Mill"). In Vienna, as part of the
School of Brentano he befriended
Alois Höfler. In 1885 he obtained his habilitation as
Privatdozent in Strasburg with
Grundzüge einer Theorie der mathematischen und nicht-mathematischen Grenzbegriffe. Ein Beitrag zur Erkenntnistheorie ("Foundations of a theory of mathematical and non-mathematical limit concepts. A contribution to epistemology") and became the assistant of the
neo-Kantian Wilhelm Windelband. Kerry was influenced by
Bernard Bolzano and became an important conduit of his work. He was among the first students of Brentano (with
Meinong and
Höfler) to distinguish clearly between concept and object. Kerry died on 20 May 1889 as a result of an ear infection. Kerry was
double first cousins with Fritz Kerry, who was the father of
Richard Kerry and grandfather of
John Kerry. ==Influence==