The 1901 US stock-market crisis caused by a struggle for control of Northern Pacific Railway was called the Panic of 1901.
A contest between the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific interests drove Northern Pacific shares sharply higher. Short sellers were forced to buy shares to cover their positions, while other investors rushed to acquire stock. The resulting corner produced extreme volatility on the New York Stock Exchange.
On May 9, 1901, Northern Pacific shares plunged after the corner broke. The crisis spread to other railroad shares and damaged the finances of several speculators and brokerage firms.
The Panic of 1901 is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1907, which involved the collapse of the Knickerbocker Trust Company and a broader banking panic. The 1901 episode was primarily a stock-market battle over railroad control, although it exposed wider vulnerabilities in American finance.