Albert Ballin

Albert Ballin was a German shipping magnate. He was the general director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) or Hamburg-America Line, which for a time was the world's largest shipping company. Being the inventor of the concept of the cruise ship, he is known as the father of modern cruise ship travel. Albert Ballin was a risk-taker who was willing to challenge his colleagues, foreign competitors, and domestic politics in order to build a successful shipping company. He focused on British rivals and was determined to expand HAPAG's global reach, he also worked closely with the Kaiser and supported expansion of the German navy.

15 August 1857

Born on the same birth day (15 August): Henry Howard, 15th Earl of Arundel • Jarrod Dyson • Jim Dale • John Silber • Julius Katchen • Maxine Waters • Paola Reis • Ramaprasad Chanda • Thomas De Quincey • Tomasz Suwary • Óliver Pérez

Born in the same month (August 1857): Cécile Chaminade • Ernestine von Kirchsberg • Libert H. Boeynaems • Ned Hanlon (baseball) • Sandford Schultz