Which company’s failure triggered the 1907 Panic on the New York Stock Exchange?

The Knickerbocker Trust Company’s failure triggered the 1907 Panic on the New York Stock Exchange.

The crisis intensified in October 1907 after an unsuccessful attempt to corner shares of United Copper Company. The failed speculation damaged confidence in its backers, and depositors then rushed to withdraw money from Knickerbocker Trust, one of New York’s largest trust companies. The institution suspended operations on October 22.

The panic spread through banks, brokerage firms, and the stock market. J. P. Morgan coordinated private-sector efforts to provide liquidity and prevent additional failures. The crisis eventually helped persuade political leaders that the United States needed a more formal central banking structure. The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913.

Knickerbocker Trust was not itself a stock exchange, and its collapse did not single-handedly cause every market decline. It was the highly visible failure that converted earlier financial strain into a broader run on confidence, making it a central name in accounts of the panic.