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.
In 1871, Morgan became a partner in a New York City firm. By 1895, the firm took his name. J.P. Morgan and Company soon grew to be one of the most powerful banking houses in the country. Morgan was very good at making failing companies into profitable companies. After the 1893 financial panic, he helped the railroad industry recover. He merged railroad companies and became a stockholder in every one of them. He made a fortune in railroads.