The 1907 U.S. financial crisis that helped inspire creation of the Federal Reserve was the Panic of 1907.
The panic began after a failed attempt to corner shares of United Copper Company. The failure spread through banks and trust companies connected to the speculators, producing withdrawals and a severe shortage of credit. Trust companies were especially vulnerable because they held fewer reserves than traditional commercial banks.
J. P. Morgan organized private support for troubled institutions and helped coordinate emergency lending. His intervention limited the damage, but it also demonstrated how heavily the U.S. financial system depended on one powerful private banker during crises.
Congress responded with reforms, including the National Monetary Commission. The Federal Reserve System was eventually created in 1913, giving the United States a central bank designed partly to provide liquidity during future panics.