former "Hippodrome) in Paris (largest in the world at the time - 6,000 seats). By 1910 Léon Gaumont had improved his synchronous sound invention to the point where he was able to provide enough volume to be heard by up to 4000 people in a theater. In 1912, Gaumont developed a color process for film. One of the two dominant forces (after Charles Pathé, in film in all of Europe, World War I profoundly affected Leon Gaumont's business fortunes (over 300 employees were drafted, Nitrate Emulsion film stocks dwindled because of the need for nitro-cellulose in the munitions industry); nevertheless, before retiring in 1930, he had built one of the most important film companies in cinema history. Upon his retirement to Provence, a restructuring of corporate ownership took place through financing provided by the Banque Nationale de Crédit and with a capital stock issue in the name of a new company called Gaumont-Franco-Film-Aubert (GFFA). Four years later, a scandal erupted following the collapse of the Banque Nationale de Crédit and GFFA was forced to file for bankruptcy protection. Death and legacy Léon Gaumont died on 9 August 1946 in Sainte-Maxime-sur-Mèr, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, and was buried in the Cimetière de Belleville in Paris. In 1995, on the 100th anniversary of French film, a commemorative silver 100 Franc coin was issued with Léon Gaumont's image. References François Garçon, Gaumont: Un siècle de cinéma, Gallimard, 1994. 1864 births 1946 deaths Businesspeople from Paris 19th-century French businesspeople 19th-century French inventors Gaumont Film Company 20th-century French inventors