Panic of 1907 Rattles Wall Street

A sharp stock market plunge in mid-March 1907 signaled the onset of a financial panic that would nearly collapse the American banking system by autumn.

Early tremors in March 1907 foreshadowed the full-blown Panic of 1907, a banking crisis triggered by a failed attempt to corner copper stock that spiraled into runs on trust companies. The crisis, ultimately quelled by financier J.P. Morgan personally orchestrating a bailout, exposed the fragility of a banking system with no central bank, directly spurring creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.

Early tremors in March 1907 foreshadowed the full-blown Panic of 1907, a banking crisis triggered by a failed attempt to corner copper stock that spiraled into runs on trust companies. The crisis, ultimately quelled by financier J.P. Morgan personally orchestrating a bailout, exposed the fragility of a banking system with no central bank, directly spurring creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.

Also on March 11

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