The 1901 U.S. market crisis caused by a struggle for control of Northern Pacific Railway was the Panic of 1901.
Investors associated with James J. Hill and J. P. Morgan competed with Edward Harriman for control of Northern Pacific. A buying battle drove the railroad’s share price sharply higher in May 1901. When the struggle ended, traders who had sold shares short faced severe losses and rushed to cover their positions.
The resulting market disruption affected other securities, especially railroads. Unlike the Panic of 1907, the episode was closely tied to one spectacular takeover contest rather than a broad banking run. It exposed how concentrated railroad ownership and speculative trading could destabilize the New York Stock Exchange.
The crisis also helped encourage later scrutiny of railroad combinations and corporate power. Northern Pacific remained part of the Northern Securities system before that combination was challenged by the U.S. government.