An Alsatian childhood
Albert (Abraham) Kahn was born on March 3, 1860 in Marmoutier, in the Lower Rhine. His family belonged to a small community of Jewish merchants.
His father, Louis, is a cattle dealer. His mother, Babette Bloch, died when Albert was only ten years old. Albert is the eldest of four siblings.

The family suffered a severe blow when, as a consequence of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Alsace and part of Lorraine were annexed to the German Empire. Like many Alsatians, some members of the Kahn family decided to remain French and settled beyond the borders of the "lost provinces," in Saint-Mihiel, in the Meuse department.
The boy continued his studies at the Saverne institute between 1873 and 1876 and then, at the age of sixteen, settled in Paris.

A banker in the city
There he began working as an employee at the bank owned by brothers Charles and Edmond Goudchaux, his distant relatives. While earning a living, Albert resumed his studies.
He looks for a tutor to help him with his lessons and thus begins his relationship with a young man a year older than him, who has a bright future ahead of him: Henri Bergson, who has just entered the Ecole Normale supérieure.
Despite continuing to work at the bank, Albert Kahn obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (1882), a Bachelor of Science degree (1883), and then a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1885.
At the Goudchaux bank, he distinguished himself through his talent from the age of 21. In just a few years, between 1889 and 1893, he amassed a fortune speculating on the gold and diamond mines of South Africa.
In 1892 he became Edmond Goudchaux's principal partner and subsequently founded his own investment bank in 1898, Kahn Bank. The company prospered, collaborating with established financial firms and participating in syndicated loans granted to industrial projects and in international loans, especially to Japan.
Albert Kahn's ability to identify stocks poised for appreciation is exceptional. His personal wealth and that of his bank grow considerably, and as a banker, he enjoys an excellent reputation both in France and abroad.

The dates of his life
1860 – March 3, born in Marmoutier (Alsace).
1871 – The German Empire annexes Alsace.
1876 ​​– Albert Kahn finishes his studies at the Saverne Institute (Alsace) and settles in Paris where he begins working as an employee of the Goudchaux bank.
1888 – He begins to speculate with shares in diamond and gold mining companies in South Africa (De Beers company) which will form the basis of his fortune.
1892 – Albert Kahn becomes principal partner of banker Edmond Goudchaux.
1893 – Albert rents a house at number 6 Quay du Quatre-Septembre, in Boulogne-sur-Seine.
1895 – He buys the house and four adjacent plots of land, and begins to create his gardens.
1898 – Founding of his own bank. Albert Kahn sets out to work for world peace. He creates the Autour du monde travel scholarships.
1906 – The Autour du Monde society is established, at the initiative of the scholarship recipients, and is located on Albert Kahn's property in Boulogne.
1908-1909 – Albert Kahn travels around the world and then continues his journey through Latin America. He commissions photographs and films to be taken, a precursor to the Archives of the Planet.
1909 – First professional missions.
1912 – Geographer Jean Brunhes is appointed director of the Archives of the Planet.
1914 – World War I. Albert Kahn participates in the creation of the National Aid Committee for refugees and civilian victims.
1916 – Kahn founded the National Committee for Social and Political Studies where specialists and legislators from various countries compared the solutions provided to the problems of their time.
1929 – Stock market crash in the United States that will spread to Europe.
1931 – Last missions of the Planet Archives.
1932 – Albert Kahn's bank goes bankrupt and, the following year, his Boulogne property is seized.
1936 – The Seine Department acquires the land and the Archives of the Planet.
1937 – Kahn's gardens are opened to the public.
1940 – November 14, Albert Kahn dies at his home in Boulogne.