J. P. Morgan coordinated the private rescue that helped contain the Panic of 1907 in the United States.
The panic began in October 1907 after a failed attempt to corner shares of the United Copper Company triggered a run on Knickerbocker Trust, one of New York’s major trust companies. Depositors withdrew cash, and fear spread through banks and financial markets.
Morgan summoned bankers to his New York library and pressed them to provide emergency loans and capital. He also helped arrange support for threatened institutions and persuaded financiers to keep funds in the banking system. The crisis exposed the weakness of the United States’ fragmented banking structure.
The panic is often described as the event that created political momentum for the Federal Reserve. Congress established the National Monetary Commission afterward, and the Federal Reserve System opened in 1913. Morgan did not act as a government official; he led a private banking response.