Which financier’s company failed at the start of the Panic of 1873 in the United States?

Jay Cooke & Company failed at the start of the Panic of 1873 in the United States.

The banking firm, led by financier Jay Cooke, declared bankruptcy on September 18, 1873. It had invested heavily in Northern Pacific Railway bonds, and difficulties selling those securities left the firm unable to meet its obligations.

The failure shook confidence in the financial system and helped trigger a broader crisis. The New York Stock Exchange closed temporarily, banks failed, railroad construction contracted, and a long economic downturn followed in the United States and Europe. The period is often called the Long Depression, although historians debate how severe and continuous the depression was across different countries.

Jay Cooke’s collapse was an important trigger, not the sole underlying cause. Excessive railroad expansion, speculative investment, and tight credit had already created vulnerabilities. The answer is the firm’s full name rather than simply “Jay Cooke,” because the company—not only the individual—entered bankruptcy.