Which U.S. stock-market panic began after the 1907 attempt to corner United Copper shares?

The Panic of 1907 began after an attempt to corner United Copper shares.

In October 1907, speculators F. Augustus Heinze and Charles W. Morse were associated with a failed effort to control United Copper Company stock. When the scheme collapsed, depositors and investors questioned banks and trust companies connected to the participants. The Knickerbocker Trust Company then suffered a run and suspended operations, helping spread panic through New York’s financial system.

The crisis was contained through private coordination led by financier J. P. Morgan, who organized emergency lending and persuaded institutions to provide support. The panic demonstrated that the United States lacked a central bank able to act as a reliable lender of last resort. Congress responded by creating the National Monetary Commission, and its work contributed to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The United Copper episode was the trigger, but weak financial structures and excessive speculation made the broader panic possible.