J. P. Morgan Biography

J.P. Morgan was an American financier and banker who founded J.P. Morgan & Co., one of the leading financial firms of the United States. Born to a successful financier in Connecticut, Morgan received education in Boston and then attended the University of Göttingen in Germany. Thereafter, he was trained as an accountant at the New York banking firm of Duncan, Sherman and Company. Later, Morgan got involved in his father's banking company and subsequently became a partner in Drexel, Morgan and Company. In 1895, the firm was restructured as J. P. Morgan and Company, evolving into one of the most important banking houses in the world. In the meantime, Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and the Thompson-Houson Electric Company to form General Electric, which materialized as the primary electrical-equipment manufacturing company in the country. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company, he later merged it with Carnegie Steel Company to form the United States Steel Corporation. During his final years, Morgan concentrated on gaining control of nation’s leading corporations and financial institutions. In addition to being a foremost financier, Morgan was also an enthusiastic art collector and a leading philanthropist of his time. Hailed as a master of finance at the time of his death in 1913, J.P. Morgan is still considered as one of America's leading businessmen and is largely credited for shaping the nation.