J. P. Morgan organized the rescue effort that helped stabilize U.S. banks during the Panic of 1907.
Morgan gathered bankers in New York and used his influence, money, and institutional network to coordinate emergency lending. The crisis intensified after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company triggered runs on trust companies and banks.
One dramatic episode centered on the Knickerbocker Trust Company, whose failure helped spread fear through New York’s financial system. Morgan’s group supplied liquidity and negotiated support for threatened institutions, while the U.S. Treasury also provided funds.
The panic exposed the weakness of a banking system without a central bank able to act as lender of last resort. The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913, partly in response to lessons from the 1907 crisis. Morgan did not single-handedly save every bank, but he played the central coordinating role.