Cantor's father had been a member of the Saint Petersburg stock exchange; when he became ill, the family moved to Germany in 1856, first to Wiesbaden, then to Frankfurt, seeking milder winters than those of Saint Petersburg.
O seu pai foi socio da Bolsa de San Petersburgo; en 1856 enfermou, e a familia mudouse a Alemaña, primeiro a Wiesbaden e despois a Frankfurt, na procura de invernos máis suaves cós de San Petersburgo.