J. P. Morgan Jr. | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Morgan in 1913 | |
| Born | John Pierpont Morgan Jr. (1867-09-07)September 7, 1867 Irvington, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 1943(1943-03-13) (aged 75) Boca Grande, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingJunius andHenry |
| Father | J. P. Morgan |
| Relatives | SeeMorgan family |
John Pierpont Morgan Jr. (September 7, 1867 – March 13, 1943) was an American banker and finance executive.[1] He inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests includingJ.P. Morgan & Co. after his fatherJ. P. Morgan died in 1913.
After graduating fromSt. Paul's School andHarvard College, Morgan trained as a finance executive working for his father and grandfather. He became a banking financier, a lending leader, and a director of several companies. He supported New York'sSociety for the Lying-In Hospital, theRed Cross, theEpiscopal Church, and endowed the creation of a rare book and manuscript collection at theMorgan Library.
Morgan brokered a deal that positioned his company as the sole munitions and supplies purchaser duringWorld War I for theBritish andFrench governments, bringing his company a 1% commission on $3 billion ($30 million). He was also a banking broker for financing to foreign governments both during and after the war.
John Pierpont Morgan Jr, nicknamed Jack, was born on September 7, 1867, inIrvington, New York, toJ. P. Morgan and Frances Louisa Tracy. He graduated fromSt. Paul's School, and later in 1886 fromHarvard College, where he was a member of theDelphic Club, formerly known as the Harvard chapter of theDelta Phi.
His siblings included Louisa Pierpont Morgan (1866–1946), who marriedHerbert L. Satterlee (1863–1947),[2] Juliet Pierpont Morgan (1870–1952) who married William Pierson Hamilton (1869–1950), andAnne Tracy Morgan (1873–1952), a philanthropist. His paternal grandparents wereJunius Spencer Morgan (1813–1890)[3] and Juliet Pierpont (1816–1884), the daughter ofJohn Pierpont.[4][5]
The younger Morgan emulated his father in his dislike for publicity, and he continued his father'sphilanthropic policy. In 1905, Morgan's father acquired the Guaranty Trust bank as part of his efforts to consolidate banking in New York City. After his father died in 1913, the bank became Morgan's base.
Morgan played a prominent part in financingWorld War I. Following its outbreak, he made the first loan of $12,000,000 toRussia.[6] In 1915, a loan of $500,000,000 was made to France and Britain following negotiations by theAnglo-French Financial Commission.[7] The firm's involvement with British and French interests fueled charges the bank was conspiring to maneuver the United States into supporting the Allies in order to rescue its loans. By 1915, when it became apparent the war was not going to end quickly, the company decided to forge formal relationships with France.[8] Those dealings became strained over the course of the war as a result of poor personal relations with French emissaries, relationships that were heightened in importance by the unexpected duration of the conflict, its costs, and the complications flowing from American neutrality. Contributing to the tensions was the favoritism displayed by Morgan officials to British interests.[9] His personal friendship withCecil Spring Rice ensured that from 1915 until sometime after the United States entered the war, his firm was the official purchasing agent for the British government, buying cotton, steel, chemicals and food, receiving a 1% commission on all purchases.[10] Morgan organized a syndicate of about 2200 banks and floated a loan of $500,000,000 to theAllies. The British sold off their holdings of American securities and by late 1916 were dependent on unsecured loans for further purchases.[11]
At the beginning of World War I,US Treasury SecretaryWilliam McAdoo and others in the Wilson administration were very suspicious of J. P. Morgan & Co.'s enthusiastic role as British agent for purchasing and banking. When the United States entered the war, this gave way to close collaboration, in the course of which Morgan received financial concessions.[12] From 1914 to 1919, he was a member of the advisory council for theFederal Reserve Bank of New York.[10]
On July 3, 1915, an assassin,Eric Muenter, entered Morgan's mansion, known asMatinecock Point, onEast Island inGlen Cove, Long Island, and shot him twice. This was ostensibly to bring about an embargo on arms, and in protest of his profiteering from war. Morgan, however, quickly recovered from his wounds.[13][14]
After World War I and the Versailles Treaty, Morgan Guaranty managedGermany's reparation payments. After the war, Morgan made several trips to Europe to investigate and report on financial conditions there. In 1919, he was for a time chairman of the international committee – composed of American, British and French bankers – for the protection of the holders of Mexican securities. In November 1919, he was made a director of the Foreign Finance Corporation, which was organized to engage in the investment of funds chiefly in foreign enterprises.
By the 1920s, Morgan Guaranty had become one of the world's most important banking institutions, as a leading lender to Germany and Europe.[10][15] During the Great Depression, however, he took heavy financial losses. The assets of the House of Morgan fell 40% from $704 million to $425 million.[16] American banking came under heavy attack.[17] Morgan personified banking, and he drew attacks from politicians, especially in theU.S. Senate's Pecora hearings of 1932, which "created a tidal wave of anger against Wall Street".[18][19]
Morgan was a director of numerous corporations, including theU.S. Steel Corp., thePullman Co., theAetna Insurance Co., and theNorthern Pacific Railway Co.[10] He died of a stroke on March 13, 1943, inBoca Grande, Florida.[20]
In 1890, Morgan marriedJane Norton Grew (1868–1925), daughter of Boston banker and mill owner Henry Sturgis Grew. She was the aunt ofHenry Grew Crosby. The couple had four children:
In 1920, Morgan gave his London residence, 14 Princes Gate (nearImperial College London), to the U.S. government for use as its embassy.
In 1924, Morgan created thePierpont Morgan Library as a public institution as a memorial to his father.Belle da Costa Greene, Morgan's personal librarian, became the first director and continued the aggressive acquisition and expansion of the collections ofilluminated manuscripts, authors' original manuscripts,incunabula, prints, and drawings, early printed Bibles, and many examples of finebookbinding. Today the library is a complex of buildings which serve as a museum and scholarly research center.
Morgan Jr. donated a very substantial portion of his father's collection to theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[25]
A yachtsman like his father, Morgan served from 1919 to 1921 as commodore of theNew York Yacht Club. In 1930, he built the turbo electric driven yachtCorsair IV atBath Iron Works in Maine. TheCorsair IV, launched on April 10, 1930, was one of the most opulent yachts of its day and the largest built in the United States, with an overall length of 343 feet (104.5 m), 42 feet (12.8 m) beam and 2,142 GRT.[26][27] Legend at the shipyard credits the phrase "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" to Morgan, when asked what the yacht cost. However, this quote is most often attributed to his father in connection with the yachtCorsair, which was launched in 1891.
Morgan sold theCorsair IV to theBritish Admiralty in 1940 for one dollar to assist with Britain's war effort.[28] After the war, theCorsair IV was sold to Pacific Cruise Lines and, on September 29, 1947, began service as a luxury cruise ship operating between Long Beach, California, and Acapulco, Mexico. On November 12, 1949, the yacht struck a rock near the beach in Acapulco and, although all passengers and crew were rescued, it was deemed a total loss.[29]
Morgan was a member of theJekyll Island Club (a.k.a. "The Millionaires' Club") onJekyll Island, Georgia, as was his father.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Mrs. Pennoyer, the mother of six, a grandmother of 28 and a great-grandmother of 31, lived in the English-Norman styled home on an estate called "Round Bush" in Locust Valley. Born into a family whose name was synonymous with international banking, immense wealth and philanthropy, she nevertheless lived a private life...
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by position created | Chairman ofJ.P. Morgan & Co. January 31, 1943 – March 13, 1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman ofU.S. Steel August 15, 1927 – March 29, 1932 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Cover of Time Magazine September 24, 1923 | Succeeded by |
