James Fisk (financier)
| James Fisk | |
|---|---|
James Fisk
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| Born |
April 1, 1835 Pownal, Vermont |
| Died | January 7, 1872 (aged 36) New York City, New York |
| Cause of death | murder |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Stockbroker, corporate executive, militia colonel |
| Years active | 1850–1872 |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Moore |
| Partner(s) | Josie Mansfield |
James Fisk, Jr. (April 1, 1835 – January 7, 1872) – known variously as "Big Jim", "Diamond Jim", and "Jubilee Jim" – was an American and corporate executive who has been referred to as one of the "robber barons" of the Gilded Age. Though Fisk was admired by the working class of New York and the Erie Railroad, he achieved much ill-fame for his role in Black Friday in 1869, where he and his partner Jay Gould befriended the unsuspecting President Ulysses S. Grant in an attempt to use the President's good name in a scheme to corner the gold market in New York City. Several years later Fisk was murdered by a disgruntled business associate.
Fisk was born in the hamlet of Pownal, Vermont, in Bennington County in 1835. After a brief period in school, he ran away in 1850 and joined Van Amberg's Mammoth Circus & Menagerie. Later, he became a hotel waiter, and finally adopted the business of his father, a peddler. He applied what he learned in the circus to his peddling and grew his father's business. He then became a salesman for Jordan Marsh, a Boston dry goods firm.
A failure as a salesman, he was sent to Washington, D.C., in 1861 to sell textiles to the government. By his shrewd dealing in army contracts during the Civil War, and, by some accounts, cotton smuggling across enemy lines – in which he enlisted the help of his father – he accumulated considerable wealth, which he soon lost in speculation.
In 1864 Fisk became a stockbroker in New York City, and was employed by Daniel Drew as a buyer. He aided Drew in the Erie War against Cornelius Vanderbilt for control of the Erie Railroad. This resulted in Fisk and Jay Gould becoming members of the Erie directorate, and subsequently, a well-planned raid netted Fisk and Gould control of the railroad. The association with Gould continued until Fisk's death.
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