Which investment banker led the private rescue effort during the Panic of 1907?

J. P. Morgan led the private rescue effort during the Panic of 1907.

The panic began after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company caused runs on trusts and banks. The crisis intensified when depositors lost confidence in institutions connected to the speculation. At the time, the United States had no Federal Reserve, so there was no central bank equipped to provide emergency liquidity to the financial system.

Morgan gathered bankers in New York, examined institutions’ books, arranged loans, and used his influence to coordinate a rescue. A particularly important episode involved the Trust Company of America and the brokerage firm Moore & Schley. The crisis eventually encouraged support for creating a central bank, leading to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Morgan’s role was central, but the Treasury and other financiers also supplied funds and assistance; the rescue was not simply a one-person operation.