Jay Cooke
Jay Cooke (1821–1905) was an American financier and founder of the private banking house Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia. He is best known for helping finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War by selling roughly a billion dollars in government bonds, and is widely regarded as the first major investment banker in the United States. His firm's overextension in financing the Northern Pacific Railway led to its collapse in September 1873, which triggered the Panic of 1873.
“Cooke, who had been funding Northern Pacific from deposits in between bond issuances, could find no more buyers. The subsequent bankruptcy of Jay Cooke & Company triggered the Panic of 1873.”
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