Use of nickel (as a natural meteoric nickelâiron alloy) has been traced as far back as 3500 BCE. Nickel was first isolated and classified as a chemical element in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who initially mistook the ore for a copper mineral.
One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations.
J.P. Morgan creates the worldâs first billion-dollar corporation by buying out industrialist Andrew Carnegie and combining some 33 companies to create United States Steel. 1895: J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr. becomes senior partner. The New York firm is renamed J.P. Morgan & Co. 1893: J.P. Morgan is primary financier of U.S. railroads. 1871