The 1901 U.S. stock-market crash involving a cornering attempt in Northern Pacific Railway shares was the Panic of 1901.
The contest centered on control of Northern Pacific and involved powerful railroad financiers, including E. H. Harriman and the group associated with J. P. Morgan and James J. Hill. On May 9, 1901, Northern Pacific stock surged dramatically as traders scrambled to obtain shares. The squeeze destabilized other securities, especially stocks connected with competing railroad systems.
The panic was relatively brief compared with later market collapses, but it showed how concentrated ownership and speculative trading could threaten the wider exchange. The episode also exposed the financial power of large railroad combinations during the Gilded Age. It should not be confused with the Panic of 1907, which involved banking runs and later encouraged reforms to the U.S. financial system.