On This Day

Government bond agent Jay Cooke & Co collapses, causing panic on Wall Street and the start of the Panic of 1873 and the

Government bond agent Jay Cooke & Co collapses, causing panic on Wall Street and the start of the Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression

Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowledged as the first major investment banker in the United States and creator of the first wire house firm.

Historical Significance

Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States.

Events Before

  1. The Moerdijk railway bridge over Hollands Diep in South Holland opens, becoming the longest bridge in Europe at that tim

    The Moerdijk railway bridge over Hollands Diep in South Holland opens, becoming the longest bridge in Europe at that time

  2. Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in Axum in over 200 years

    Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in Axum in over 200 years

  3. German physicist and X-ray pioneer Wilhelm Röntgen (26) weds Anna Bertha Ludwig in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, until her dea

    German physicist and X-ray pioneer Wilhelm Röntgen (26) weds Anna Bertha Ludwig in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, until her death in1919

  4. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art opens

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City.

  5. Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park

    Yellowstone National Park is a national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of the state of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho.

Events After

  1. New York City annexes the West Bronx

    The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that compose New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

  2. Ulysses S. Grant's daughter Nellie marries in the White House

    Ellen Wrenshall Grant (July 4, 1855 – August 30, 1922) was the third child and only daughter of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant.

  3. Johann Strauss Jr's opera "Die Fledermaus" premieres in Vienna

    Johann Strauss Jr's opera "Die Fledermaus" premieres in Vienna

  4. First Impressionist art exhibition opens in Paris, features Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pi

    First Impressionist art exhibition opens in Paris, features Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Berthe Morisot

  5. Game of lawn tennis is introduced by Welsh Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, who introduces a rubber ball to bounce on gra

    Game of lawn tennis is introduced by Welsh Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, who introduces a rubber ball to bounce on grass

More from the 1870s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 18, 1873?
Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowledged as the first major investment banker in the United States and creator of the first wire house firm.
Why is Government bond agent Jay Cooke & Co collapses, causing panic on Wall Street ... significant?
Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States.

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