Which company’s failed attempt to corner the copper market helped trigger the Panic of 1907?

The failed attempt to corner the copper market by the United Copper Company helped trigger the Panic of 1907.

Speculator F. Augustus Heinze and associates tried to control United Copper’s shares, expecting to profit from a short squeeze. The plan failed when the market discovered that far more shares existed than the group could control. United Copper’s price collapsed in October 1907.

The failure spread to banks connected with Heinze and his associates, especially in New York. Depositors began withdrawing funds, and the panic widened as trust in financial institutions weakened.

J. Pierpont Morgan organized private support for banks and trust companies, helping stabilize the system. The episode also demonstrated the United States’ lack of a central bank capable of acting as a lender of last resort, contributing to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.