Which company was at the center of the failed 1907 attempt to corner the US copper market?

United Copper Company was at the center of the failed 1907 attempt to corner the US copper market.

The scheme was associated with F. Augustus Heinze, a copper operator who sought to control United Copper shares. The attempt failed when the market did not contain the expected number of short sellers. United Copper’s share price collapsed, exposing the scheme and damaging confidence in banks connected to Heinze and his associates.

The panic spread through New York’s financial system. Depositors and trust-company customers withdrew funds, while the Knickerbocker Trust Company became a major casualty. With no modern central bank yet operating in the United States, J. P. Morgan helped coordinate emergency support.

The Panic of 1907 helped build political support for financial reform. The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913, partly to provide a more reliable lender of last resort.