Albert I (1848-1922), is one of the most enlightened princes of his time.
He is nicknamed "the Learned Prince" or "the Navigator Prince" because of his abyssal love for science and especially for the oceans.
A true Jules Verne character, he conducted no less than 28 scientific campaigns, from Spitsbergen to the Azores and in 1910, he inaugurated the Oceanographic Museum.
Also passionate about prehistory, the Prince founded a museum of Anthropology in 1902, to exhibit his discoveries there.
A convinced humanist and pacifist, he dreams of participating in the improvement of the world: He creates the International Institute of Peace.
For him, progress must be at the service of man and this ideal of well-being for humanity does not prevent him from keeping a distance and sometimes being aware of the limits of industrial progress, by its possible attacks on environment and biodiversity.
Albert I undertook profound political, economic and social reforms.
The Prince is at the forefront of the avant-garde and brings Monaco into modernity: He endows the Principality with a Constitution, expands the port, creates a hospital, a high school, a library...
This multifaceted Prince, through his humanism, his patronage, his art of governing, his scientific curiosity and his pioneering awareness of environmental issues, greatly contributed to the influence of his country.