Albert Edward Foote was born on February 6, 1846, in Hamilton, New York.

He was an American physician, chemist, mineral collector, and dealer. He graduated from Courtland Academy in Homer, New York, where he first became interested in mineralogy and began collecting minerals in 1862. He obtained his medical degree in 1867 from the University of Michigan. With Foote's knowledge of chemistry, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy at the Iowa State Agricultural College at Ames in 1861 and became a full professor in 1871. In 1875, he moved to Philadelphia and set up practice as a physician, mineralogist, and seller of medical and other scientific books. At the Centennial Exposition in 1876 in Philadelphia he began selling part of his collected minerals starting a business as a professional mineral trader. He built one of the largest and most successful mineral dealerships in history. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

In 1872, he married Augusta Jane Mathews (1845–1913). He died on October 11, 1895, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.