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Birth
J.P. Morgan was born on April 17, 1837. His full name is John Pierpont Morgan. He was born into a very wealthy and prominent family. His mother was Juliet Pierpont and his father was Junius Spencer Morgan. The New England family lived in Hartford, Connecticut (the place of his birth). As a young child he was very sick. This sickly child would spend would spend long amounts of time in home. He suffered from seizures and other mysterious symptoms. -
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J.P. Morgan Life span
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Education
J.P. Morgan as a young child was originally a smart, but indifferent child. He got his elementary education from several different schools including Hartford Public School and Episcopal Academy in Cheshire. His grades slowly started to improve by the time he attended English High School. He graduated in 1854 and enrolled in Germany's prestigious University of Gottingen. When he officially finished his education in 1857 he moved back New York. This was the great year he finished his education. -
Early Career
Once J.P. Morgan finished his education in 1857 he moved back to New York to start his finance career. He first started working as a clerk at Duncan, Sherman & Co. When the Civil war broke out he left to work at his father's firm, J. Pierpont Morgan & Company. His work until 1864. This was his first job and acted as a gate into his great career. Even in his first job he show great financial ingenuity making a profit off of a shipment of coffee. From the start he showed a good financial mind. -
Dabney, Morgan & Co
After J.P. Morgan's wife passed away in February of 1862. The devastated man then plunged himself into his work. With the urging of his father, Julius Morgan, he paired with senior partner Charles Dabney in 1864. The new company was called Dabney, Morgan & Co. His father was heading the London banking firm, so he brought his large impact to American business. The Morgan family starte to really expand their wealth and influence. -
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Railroad Work
In the late 19th century the railroad industry was rapidly expanding and thriving. J.P. Morgan bought out smaller financially troubled railroads and reconstructed them to his own standards. He eventually owned around one-sixth of American rail lines. He took a larger step forward in 1879 when William Vanderbilt came to him about the sale of 250,000 shares of stock in the New York Central Railroad. Pulling off the transaction and he got a seat on the New York Central board of directors. -
J.P. Morgan & Co.
In 1871, J.P. Morgan created his own private banking company. This was a start into the huge financial career he would have. The firm would be later called J.P. Morgan & Co. The firm acquired, financed and expanded many businesses. It would keep growing into one of the largest and most powerful banking houses in the world and would remain a strong financial power well into the 21st Century. -
General Electric
In 1892 J.P. Morgan broke new ground in the electric industry. After his roll in the railroad industry he started finding profit in a new type of industry. In 1892 he arranged the merger Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Company. The new company that he formed was called General Electric. This was a groundbreaking step in J.P Morgan's life. -
Gold Standards Crisis
During J.P. Morgans prime era the U.S. Government had no central banking. So J.P. Morgans vast wealth helped him save the nation from Economic disaster. In 1895, America's gold standards were suffering. J.P. Morgan was able to save the economy by heading a banking syndicate that would loan the the Federal Government More than $60 million. This was the true sight of the immense power J.P. Morgan had. -
Carnegie Steel
J.P. Morgan broke even more ground in a very profitable industry. He saw profit in the steel in rails and trains. He then started acquiring steel-making operations. In 1898 he formed Federal Steel Company. Then 3 years later in 1901 he made another breakthrough. He purchased Andrew Carnegie's Steel company for early $500 million. He then formed U.S. Steel Company by merging Carnegie steel works with other steel and iron industries. This was a huge profitable step in J.P. Morgans life. -
The Financial Panic of 1907
J.P. Morgan came to the aid of the financial world again in 1907. He held a meeting with the country's top financiers in his home in New York City. He was able to convinced them to bail out many failing financial institutions in order to stabilize the markets. He then helped again in 1907 when he aided the U.S Government by stabilizing collapsing trust banks. He called many of the bank's presidents to his Manhattan Library and locked the door and didn't let them out until a solution was made. -
President Theodore Roosevelt
J.P. Morgan meet a resistance by President Roosevelt, who sought to end the wealthy "bank robbers" of Wall Street. In 1902 the Justice department charged Northern Securities for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. It ended in the courts favor in 1904. J.P. Morgan started to get his own criticism and in 1912 was called to testify. He was charged with being part of an group of Wall Street financiers who could control the banking system for themselves. This was the end of the Monopoly era. -
Death
On March 31, 1913, J.P. Morgan passed away. His health had steadily declined until at the age of 75 he passed away in a hotel in Rome, Italy. On April 14, (the day of his funeral) the New York Stock Exchange Closed until noon in his honor, a honor usually reserved for the death of presidents. His huge financial attributes effected all and were respected by many. He left behind a word famous art collection and a financial business that remained strong well into the 21st century.
