October 24, 1907: The Panic of 1907

J.P. Morgan

October 24, 1907: The Panic of 1907 hits the New York Stock Exchange, sending stock prices tumbling, and triggering fears of a depression.

The panic was triggered by the failed attempt to corner the market on the stock of the United Copper Company. When the bid failed, banks that had lent money to the cornering scheme suffered runs that later spread to affiliated banks and trusts, leading a week later to the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, New York City's 3rd-largest trust.

The collapse of the Knickerbocker spread fear throughout the city's trusts as regional banks withdrew reserves from New York City banks. The panic then extended across the nation, as vast numbers of people withdrew deposits from their regional banks, causing the 8th-largest decline in U.S. stock market history.

The panic might have deepened if not for the intervention of financier John Pierpont Morgan, one of the richest men in America, who pledged large sums of his own money, and convinced other New York bankers to do the same, to shore up the banking system. The idea was, if J.P. Morgan was willing to put his fortune and his reputation on the line, they should be willing to do the same. They were.

That highlighted the limitations of the U.S. Independent Treasury system, which managed the nation's money supply, but was unable to inject sufficient liquidity back into the market. By November, the financial contagion had largely ended, only to be replaced by a further crisis due to the heavy borrowing of a large brokerage firm using the stock of Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (TC&I) as collateral.

Collapse of TC&I's stock price was averted by an emergency takeover by U.S. Steel Corporation, owned by Morgan since he paid Andrew Carnegie $492 million for it in 1901. (About $17.1 billion in 2022 money.) This move was approved by President Theodore Roosevelt, who, despite having previously picked a policy fight with Morgan and won, knew that letting Morgan have what he wanted was the right move this time. Morgan was pleased to have won one over "the Trust-Buster."

Morgan died in 1913. That same year, United Copper went out of business, and the Federal Reserve Board was established, to help steady the American economy, so that no future panics would cause an economic downturn. It usually works. In 1929, it did not: That crash was so bad, even the Fed couldn't do much about it. Nor could J.P. Morgan Jr., who tried to repeat his father's attempt to prop up the market, and ended up losing 40 percent of his personal fortune as a result. (He lived until 1943.)

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October 24, 1907 was a Thursday. The only sport currently in season in North America was football, and only one game was played: Mississippi A&M beat Mercer, 75-0 at the Columbus Fairgrounds in Columbus, Mississippi.

A&M would be renamed Mississippi State College in 1932, and Mississippi State University in 1958. Mercer University, based in Macon, Georgia, dropped football after the 1941 season due to World War II, and didn't start playing again until 2013, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA).

July 6, 1915: Eric Muenter Goes Out With a Bang

July 6, 1915: Eric Muenter dies, still in the process of becoming one of the most successful terrorists ever to strike at America. How could that be?

He was born on March 25, 1871 in Uelzen, Lower Saxony, Germany. In 1906, he was a professor of German at Harvard University, when his pregnant wife, the former Leona Krembs, died of arsenic poisoning. He was accused of murder, and was almost certainly guilty.

He went on the run, reappeared under the name Frank Holt, remarried, and got a job teaching German at another Ivy League school, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. By 1915, while not yet fighting in World War I, the American government was aiding Britain and France against Germany. He joined Abteilung III b (Department Three-B), which planted time-bombs on ships carrying arms for the Allies from American ports.

On July 2, about 2 months after a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, increasing the calls for America to enter the war, he entered the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington. Unable to gain access to the locked Senate chamber, he hid a time-bomb in the Senate reception room. There was no one to be injured by the explosion, and he wrote a letter to The Washington Star under a pseudonym, saying he hoped to "Make enough noise to be heard above the voices that clamor for war."

This was not the first attempt to attack the Capitol: In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British Army had burned it, along with the White House. And it would not be the last: There was a shooting in the House of Representatives chamber that wounded 5 Congressmen in 1954, the Weather Underground planted a bomb that hurt no one in 1971, a pro-Communist group set off a bomb that hurt no one in 1983, 2 Capitol police offers were shot and killed in 1998, some Senators received anthrax-tainted mail in 2001, and, of course, there was the Trump Insurrection of January 6, 2021, in which 5 people died.

Muenter was just getting warmed up. On July 3, the day the letter appeared, he was already in New York, where he boarded the SS Minnehaha, which was loaded with munitions meant for Britain. He then took the Long Island Rail Road to Glen Cove, and invaded the mansion of J.P. Morgan Jr. His father, the financier/robber baron John Pierpont Morgan, had died in 1913, but Morgan Jr. had continued his activities, and was financing some of the aid to Britain.

Muenter found Morgan, and aimed his gun. Morgan lunged at him, and actually managed to tackle him before he could get off a shot. In the struggle, Muenter fired 2 shots, but Morgan was not hurt enough to give up the struggle. Finally, Morgan's butler hit Muenter, knocking him out. Morgan was treated, and returned to work within weeks.

The would-be assassin was identified as Frank Holt. But another man saw a resemblance to Eric Muenter, whom the witness knew was wanted for the killing of his wife. A Harvard official was brought to New York, and he confirmed that Muenter and Holt were one and the same.

On July 5, in his jail cell in Mineola, on Long Island, Muenter slashed his wrist, but this attempt at suicide failed. The next day, a guard failed to lock his cell, and Muenter got out, went up to the roof, and jumped to his death. He was 44 years old.

But while his life was over, his reign of terror was not. His new wife received a letter from him, warning that a ship heading for England would sink on July 7. It was quickly narrowed down to the Minnehaha, and the ship was contacted by radio. The crew searched for the bomb, but couldn't find it before it exploded. Fortunately, Muenter had goofed: He put it too far from the munitions on board to do anything more than minor damage, and the ship arrived safely.

American anger at Germany rose, but, still, America didn't get into the war. Finally, on April 2, 1917, faced with additional German attacks on American ships, President Woodrow Wilson, who had recently won re-election on the slogan, "He kept us out of war," could keep out of it no longer, and asked Congress for a Declaration of War. He got it, and the war was won on November 11, 1918.

The 2 years after that would see several other terrorist incidents on American soil -- but most of them would not be committed by Germans seeking revenge.

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July 6, 1915 was a Wednesday. This was during the Federal League's attempt to be a 3rd major league in baseball. In the American League that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-6 at the Polo Grounds, where they groundshared with the Giants until the 1st Yankee Stadium was built in 1923. Jack Lapp hit a home run, Nap Lajoie went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Wally Schang went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Schang would later be the catcher on the Yankees' 1st 3 Pennant winners and their 1st World Series winners in 1923.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators at Fenway Park in Boston. Tris Speaker, in his last season before being traded to Cleveland, went 3-for-8 with an RBI. In the nightcap, Vean Gregg outpitched Walter Johnson. Babe Ruth, in his 1st full season, did not appear in either game.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at League Park in Cleveland. For the Tigers, Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs. For the Indians, Shoeless Joe Jackson went 1-for-4.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

In the National League:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. In spite of this loss, the Phillies won their 1st Pennant, before losing the World Series to the Red Sox.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers -- or the Brooklyn Robins, as they were known under the managing of Wilbert Robinson from 1914 to 1931 -- swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, 3-2 and 4-3.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-4.

* And there was a doubleheader at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. In the opener, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4. Pete Knisely drove in the winning run with a triple in the bottom of the 14th inning. The nightcap was tied 2-2 after 7 innings, when the umpires called it due to darkness.

The next season, with the collapse of the FL, Chicago Whales owner Charlie Weeghman was allowed to buy the Cubs, and moved them into the Whales' home, Weeghman Park, which later became Wrigley Field.

And in the Federal League:

* The Newark Peppers beat the Baltimore Terrapins, 7-1 at Terrapin Park in Baltimore. After the FL's collapse, the International League's Baltimore Orioles moved into Terrapin Park, renamed it Oriole Park, became the dominant minor-league team of the 1920s, and stayed until a fire burned the park down on July 4, 1944. Their move to Baltimore Municipal Stadium led to its conversion into Memorial Stadium, and to Baltimore's return to the major leagues.

* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops beat the Buffalo Blues, 5-1 at Washington Park in Brooklyn, where the Dodgers had played before Ebbets Field.

* The Kansas City Packers beat the St. Louis Terriers, 1-0 at Gordon and Koppel Field in Kansas City. Nick Cullop had to leave the game after 3 innings, but he and Gene Packard combined for a 7-hit shutout.

* And the Chicago Whales and the Pittsburgh Rebels were rained out at Weeghman Park, the future Wrigley Field, in Chicago. The Whales won the Pennant, and the game was never made up.

May 8, 1901: The Panic of 1901

E.H. Harriman

May 17, 1901: The New York Stock Exchange has its 1st crash. It becomes known as the Panic of 1901.

Today, people know Edward Henry Harriman from his citation by Woodcock, the guardian of the safe on the Union Pacific Railroad trains robbed by the title characters in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But he was the chairman of UP, and the father of future New York Governor and Ambassador Averell Harriman. His attempt to buy the Northern Pacific Railway, in an attempt to monopolize rail service from Chicago on west, was the main cause of the Panic of 1901.

On May 8, stock in the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad declined. St. Paul Fire & Marine, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and Union Pacific followed. Panic selling ensued. A rumor spread that J.P. Morgan's main broker, Arthur Housman, had died, causing more selling. Housman was notified, and brought to the exchange floor, which signaled that The House of Morgan was still doing business.

One railroad not seriously affected by the Panic was the Northern Pacific, owned by James J. Hill, who was allied with Morgan. Hill and Harriman teamed up, and formed Northern Securities, to run both of their railroads. It immediately became the 2nd-most valuable corporation in America, behind United States Steel, which Morgan had recently bought from Andrew Carnegie. Northern Securities was broken up by a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1904.

Housman died in 1907, the year of the next Wall Street "panic." Harriman died in 1909, Morgan in 1913, Hill in 1916. None of them lived to see the Crash of 1929.

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May 8, 1901 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-8 at the 1890-1911 version of the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Superbas lost to the Boston Beaneaters, 7-6 in 12 innings at the 1894-1914 version of the South End Grounds in Boston. Hall-of-Famer Kid Nichols pitched the last 3 innings for the win. The Superbas became the Dodgers in 1911. From 1914 to 1931, they were managed by Wilbert Robinson, and were the Brooklyn Robins. After that, they went back to being the Brooklyn Dodgers.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Orphans, 8-7 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. Honus Wagner went 1-for-5. For 22 seasons, Adrian Anson was the 1st baseman for the team originally known as the Chicago White Stockings. He became their Captain and manager, and was nicknamed Cap. As he got older, he was nicknamed Pop. The team was renamed the Chicago Colts in 1890, because they were so young. Anson retired after the 1897 season, and the team was renamed the Orphans, because "they missed their Pop." In 1903, they again embraced youth, and became the Chicago Cubs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 14-3 at at League Park in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 5-1 at Oriole Park in Baltimore. Hall-of-Famer Joe McGinnity was the winning pitcher. Those Orioles folded at the end of the 1902 season, and were replaced by the New York Highlanders, who became the Yankees in 1913. The original AL Orioles and the Yankees are separate franchises.

* The Boston Americans beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 12-4 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. Cy Young was the winning pitcher. The Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Bluebirds, 3-1 at the 1891-1908 version of League Park in Cleveland. The Bluebirds became the Bronchos the next season, then acquired Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, and renamed themselves the Cleveland Naps in 1903. He left after 1914, and they became the Cleveland Indians, becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* And the Detroit Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers, were rained out at the Lloyd Street Grounds in Milwaukee. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 4. The Brewers won the opener, 4-3 in 11 innings; and also won the nightcap, 11-4. The Brewers moved the next season, becoming the St. Louis Browns, and they became the new Baltimore Orioles in 1954.

March 14, 1904: TR the Trust-Buster

He actually hated the nickname,

but didn't mind people using his initials, "TR."

March 14, 1904: The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its ruling in Northern Securities Company v. United States. It rules that the formation of the plaintiff was illegal.

The Northern Securities Company was a short-lived American railroad trust, formed in 1901 by E.H. Harriman of the Northern Pacific Railway, father of future Governor Averell Harriman of New York; James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway; and J.P. Morgan of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It was capitalized at $400 million, and Hill served as president.

The U.S. Department of Justice, pushed by President Theodore Roosevelt, sued the company in 1902, under the Sherman Antitrust Act. It was one of the first antitrust cases filed against corporate interests instead of labor. The government won its case, and the company was dissolved, so that the three railroads again operated independently.

It was a close vote, 5-4. Justices John Marshall Harlan, David J. Brewer, Henry B. Brown, Joseph McKenna and William R. Day made the majority opinion. Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Edward D. White each wrote a dissent, and were joined by Chief Justice Melville Fuller and Rufus Peckham.

Nevertheless, it was one of several actions that Roosevelt took that earned him the nickname "The Trust-Buster." In a 1905 speech in Memphis, he said, "This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country."

As it turned out, his successor, William Howard Taft, for all his conservatism -- and for all of TR's eventual criticism of him -- used the power of the federal government to break up more trusts in his 4 years in office than TR did in his 7.

Holmes was both the last serving Justice from the Northern Securities case, serving until 1932; and the last surviving Justice, living until 1935.

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March 14, 1904 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Basketball barely existed. And the Ottawa Silver Seven had already defended the Stanley Cup. So there were no scores on this historic day.

March 2, 1901: The Birth of U.S. Steel

March 2, 1901: The United States Steel Corporation is founded, with financier J.P. Morgan paying for the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company, Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company, and William Henry "Judge" Moore's National Steel Company. Price: $492 million. (About $17.1 billion in 2022 money.) It was the 1st great corporate merger in American history.

J.P. Morgan

A witness to the signing of the merger agreement recalled Carnegie telling Morgan, "I should have asked for $1 billion," and Morgan telling him, "If you had, you would have gotten it."

Andrew Carnegie

Charles M. Schwab, an executive at Carnegie Steel, becomes the 1st president of the company, after originally suggesting the merger to Morgan. The equities broker Charles R. Schwab, well-known for appearing in his own TV commercials, is not related to Charles M.

Known as U.S. Steel for short, the company's original headquarters was the Empire Building, built in 1898 at 71 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Since 1971, it has been at the U.S. Steel Tower, at 600 Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh. At 841 feet, it is the tallest building in "the Steel City."

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March 2, 1901 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were in their off-seasons. Basketball barely existed. Hockey season was already over, with the Winnipeg Victorias having won the Stanley Cup.

In England, and in Carnegie's native Scotland, there was soccer action, including Woolwich Arsenal, then playing home games at the Manor Ground in Plumstead in Kent (now part of Southeast London but eventually in North London, losing 1-0 to Grimsby Town at home. Liverpool would win the Football League Division One, but, on this day, could only manage a 2-2 draw with Preston North End at Anfield in Liverpool.