J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) was an American financier who dominated corporate finance in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century, using his banking house, J.P. Morgan & Co., to reorganize and consolidate major railroads and industrial companies into stable, profitable combinations. He orchestrated the 1901 creation of the United States Steel Corporation, the first billion-dollar company in American history, by merging Andrew Carnegie's steel operations with several rivals, and he personally organized a coalition of bankers to supply emergency liquidity and avert a nationwide banking collapse during the Panic of 1907, a role no single private citizen would be positioned to fill again once the Federal Reserve System was created partly in response a few years later. His financial power and personal art collecting made him one of the most recognizable concentrations of private economic influence in the country's history.
Facts
RoleAmerican financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 1 BirthplaceHartford, Connecticut, U.S. 1 Role
Role (category)Business / Industrialist 1 FAQs
What role did J. P. Morgan play during the Panic of 1907?
He first refused to rescue the Knickerbocker Trust, then helped keep the stock exchange open by raising cash from large institutions.
When the Knickerbocker Trust was refused a loan by the New York Clearing House in October 1907, a request for aid was made to J. P. Morgan. He asked Benjamin Strong to examine the trust's books, but Strong could not determine its solvency in the short time available, so Morgan refused to help. After the trust suspended payments and a full-scale financial crisis spread through New York, Morgan changed his mind and quickly released aid. The New York Stock Exchange stayed open largely because of his actions: he solicited cash from large financial and industrial institutions and had it delivered directly to the loan post at the exchange to support brokers willing to extend credit.
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Source Wikipedia: J. P. Morgan
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: J. P. Morgan
Wikipediainfobox: Born
Born: John Pierpont Morgan, April 17, 1837, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
infobox: Died
Died: March 31, 1913 (aged 75), Rome, Kingdom of Italy
opening sentence
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837, March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
infobox: birth_name
Born: John Pierpont Morgan, April 17, 1837, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
J. P. Morgan: Gender
Morgan (1837-1913) was an American financier who dominated corporate finance in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century, using his banking house, J.P.
In Era: The Late Modern Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
Infobox: born 1837-4-17; died 1913-3-31
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