J. P. Morgan helped organize the rescue that calmed the Panic of 1907 in the United States.
The crisis began after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company caused runs on Knickerbocker Trust and other financial institutions. The panic spread because the United States had no modern central bank to provide emergency liquidity.
Morgan gathered bankers in his New York library, examined institutions’ finances, and helped arrange loans and deposits to stop the runs. The Treasury also supplied funds, but Morgan’s coordination was central to the immediate response.
The panic strengthened arguments for creating a central bank. Congress later established the Federal Reserve System in 1913. Morgan did not single-handedly end every aspect of the crisis, and the episode was not the same event as the 1929 Wall Street Crash.