Junius Spencer Morgan
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Breed of light horse founded by a Vermont horse (foaled 1793, died 1821) named after his owner, Justin Morgan (17471797). The Justin Morgan horse, a blend of Thoroughbred, Arabian, and other elements, was a compact, heavily muscled, short-legged horse of great style, energy, and endurance. Because he alone founded the breed, he is the world's best example of prepotency (ability to pass one's traits to one's offspring). Modern Morgans are used mostly for riding. They are 14.115.2 hands (5761 in., 145155 cm) high, weigh 9001,100 lbs (400500 kg), and resemble the Arabian in conformation and endurance.
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Gale Encyclopedia of Biography:
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Junius Spencer Morgan
The American banker Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-1890) was a key participant in the credit bridge between America and Britain in the mid-19th century.
Junius Spencer Morgan was born on April 14, 1813, in West Springfield, Mass. He grew up in Hartford, Conn., where his father was a prosperous merchant with diverse business interests. Morgan entered the business world as an apprentice merchant at the age of 16 before going to New York to learn banking. He then became a partner in various mercantile firms.
A trip to Europe in 1853 decisively altered Morgan's business career and life. He met George Peabody, an American in London, and was invited to become a partner in his merchant-banking firm, founded in 1852, which facilitated the flow of British capital to America.
Morgan moved to London in 1854 to take up his duties as junior partner. Peabody retired a decade later, and Morgan became director of the firm, whose name was changed to J. S. Morgan and Company. He also inherited the high standing of Peabody in England, an asset of incalculable value. That and his abilities enabled him to build the firm into the most important American banking company in Europe. Morgan himself became the most influential American banker in that part of the world.
Morgan met Andrew Carnegie in 1869 and in business dealings with him in 1873 was able to be helpful. He also headed a syndicate which lent France money in 1870 to aid in the continuation of the Franco-Prussian War after a decisive French defeat. One writer has speculated that this was "possibly the greatest single coup organized by Junius Morgan … and the whole operation was a sensation in the financial world."
Morgan, with his son as the manager, in 1879 sold in London a sizable block of the New York Central Railroad stock owned by William H. Vanderbilt. He financed Cecil Rhodes in the 1880s in his contest for control of the diamond market against Barney Barnato, who was supported by the banking family, the Rothschilds. Morgan died in Monte Carlo, where he usually wintered, on April 8, 1890. He can justifiably be regarded as the initiator of the house of Morgan, which was made so powerful and famous by his son, John Pierpont Morgan.
Further Reading
There is no single source devoted exclusively to Morgan. Lewis Corey, The House of Morgan (1930), and Edwin P. Hoyt, Jr., The House of Morgan (1966), although different in many ways, are similar in their emphasis on the son rather than the father. The biographical material on the son contains references to the activities of the father in these useful works: J. Pierpont Morgan: An Intimate Portrait (1939) by Morgan's son-in-law, Herbert Livingston Satterlee; Frederick Lewis Allen, The Great Pierpont Morgan (1949); and the essays included in Jonathan Hughes, The Vital Few (1966).
Additional Sources
Carosso, Vincent P., The Morgans: private international bankers, 1854-1913, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Junius Spencer Morgan
Morgan, American family of financiers and philanthropists.
Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813-90, b. West Springfield, Mass., prospered at investment banking. As a boy he became a dry-goods clerk in Boston; later he entered a brokerage house in New York City. He became a partner in mercantile firms in Hartford, Conn., and in Boston and then (1854) went to London to become a partner of George Peabody. Ten years later he assumed entire control of the firm, which became J. S. Morgan & Company. He expanded this international banking enterprise, handling most of the British funds invested in the United States. His syndicate's loan of $50 million to the French government at the time of the Franco-Prussian War was one of the most spectacular transactions of the time.
His son, John Pierpont Morgan, 1837-1913, b. Hartford, Conn., built the family fortunes into a colossal financial and industrial empire. He studied abroad and in 1857 entered the New York City banking house of Duncan, Sherman & Company. Three years later he became the New York agent for his father's firm in London.
On the death of his father (1890) he became sole manager of J. S. Morgan & Company-later (1910) Morgan, Grenfell & Company-of London. J. P. Morgan's ascent to power, however, was accompanied by dramatic financial battles. He wrested control (1869) of the Albany and Susquehanna RR from Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, he led the syndicate that broke the government-financing privileges of Jay Cooke, and he developed a railroad empire by reorganizations and consolidations in all parts of the United States. In the industrial field, Morgan formed (1901) the U.S. Steel Corp., the first billion-dollar corporation in the world. He financed manufacturing and mining and controlled banks, insurance companies, shipping lines, and communications systems. Through his firm came enormous funds from abroad to develop American resources.
He was widely criticized on many occasions for backing the sale of obsolete carbines to the Union and for his gold speculations in the Civil War, for the harsh terms of his loan of gold to the federal government in the 1895 crisis, for his financial dominance in the Panic of 1907, and for bringing on the financial ills of the New York, New Haven & Hartford RR. He was largely deaf to popular criticism. In 1912 he appeared and publicly defended himself before a congressional committee headed by Arsène Pujo, which was investigating the "money trust" and which was aimed particularly at him.
Morgan was an ardent sportsman, and his yacht entered many international races. He was a prominent lay leader in the Episcopal Church. He personally dispensed numerous philanthropies, and he was a renowned art collector. After his death the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of which he had been president, received a valuable portion of his collection, which is housed in the Pierpont Morgan wing.
John Pierpont Morgan, 1867-1943, b. Irvington, N.Y., grad. Harvard, 1889, became active head of the house of Morgan when his father died in 1913. The firm was called upon to help finance World War I, and as American agent for Allied countries, the banking house raised huge funds-one issue valued at $500 million-and systematized the purchases of military supplies. In the postwar period it floated securities of foreign governments and corporations reaching $2 billion, at the same time sponsoring over $4 billion of domestic securities. Morgan and his partners actively promoted great mergers after 1922 and controlled numerous nonbanking corporations.
The younger J. P. Morgan resembled his father in his dislike for publicity and in continuing his father's philanthropic policy. In 1920 he gave his London residence to the U.S. government for use as its embassy and later endowed the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City as a research institute in memory of his father. A sister of the younger J. Pierpont Morgan, Anne Morgan, 1873-1952, was devoted to numerous philanthropic and civic organizations and constantly voiced the rights of the American woman.
Bibliography
See biographies of J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) by H. L. Satterlee (1939, repr. 1975), F. L. Allen (1949), and J. Strouse (1999). See also V. Carosso, The Morgans (1987); R. Chernow, House of Morgan (1990).
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Junius Spencer Morgan
For other uses, see Junius Spencer Morgan (disambiguation).
Junius Spencer Morgan I (April 14, 1813 – April 8, 1890) was an American banker and financier and the father of J. P. Morgan. He founded J.S. Morgan & Co.
Biography
Junius Spencer Morgan was born on April 14, 1813 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The Morgan name is traced to Carmarthen, Wales, and the first known Morgan family ancestral is Bleddri, third son of Demetae chieftain Cadivor-fawr and his wife Elen. Miles Morgan, son of William Morgan and Mary Morgan and ancestor to the Morgan family in America, emigrated from Bristol, England to Boston in 1636.[1]
Morgan began his business career in 1829 by entering the employ of Alfred Welles of Boston. He had inherited wealth from his father, Joseph Morgan and showed great business ability. He was soon invited to become a partner in the house of J. M. Beebe & Co., one of the largest retail stores in Boston and one of the largest dry goods importing and jobbing house in the country. He was in the dry goods business from about 1836 to 1853.
After some years, he met George Peabody, the well-known London banker. Shortly after the meeting, in 1854, Morgan entered Peabody's prosperous firm, George Peabody & Co. as a partner. Ten years later, in 1864, Morgan succeeded Peabody as head of the firm and changed its name to J. S. Morgan & Co. During the American Civil War the firm was appointed the financial representatives in England of the United States government.
In 1836, Morgan married Juliet Pierpont (1816–1884). He contributed money to his church and to Trinity College, Hartford.[2]
He died on April 8, 1890. At his death, he left a fortune estimated at about $10,000,000 (equivalent to $258,666,667 today). He was succeeded by his son, J. P. Morgan.
References
- ^ Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume 1. Lewis Publishing Company. 1908. p. 56. http://books.google.com/books?id=M80UAAAAYAAJ.
- ^
"Morgan, Junius Spenser". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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