J. P. Morgan organized the private rescue during the Panic of 1907 in the United States.
The panic began after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company triggered runs on banks and trust companies. Because the United States had no modern central bank, Morgan used his reputation, money, and influence to coordinate emergency lending and persuade financial institutions to support threatened firms.
Morgan famously worked with other bankers during an intense late-night effort to prevent the collapse of the Knickerbocker Trust Company and other institutions. The rescue stabilized the system, but it also highlighted how dependent American finance was on one powerful private banker.
The panic helped inspire the Aldrich–Vreeland Act and later the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. A frequent misconception is that Morgan alone solved every problem; other banks, Treasury officials, and industrialists also supplied funds and cooperation.