Gould, Jay (Jason) (1836–1892)

US financier, born in New York. He is said to have caused the financial panic on ‘Black Friday’, 24 September 1869, through his efforts to corner the gold market.

Gould was one of the ‘robber barons’ who built the transportation and communications structures of the USA while accumulating great wealth. His first major success came when he was made an associate of the Erie Railroad by Cornelius Vanderbilt. Following financial and political scandals, Gould was forced to relinquish control of the Erie Railroad, but he used the large fortune he had amassed to acquire control of western railroads, including the Union Pacific. He also controlled the Western Union Telegraph Company and elevated railways in New York City.

Gould was educated at Hobart Academy. He was engaged in surveying 1852–56, and in the lumber and tanning business. He began buying up railway bonds, becoming a broker in New York 1859. In 1857 he became president and manager of the Rutland and Washington Railway, later uniting it with the Saratoga Railway. He introduced into the Erie Railroad Company ‘Boss’ Tweed and other corrupt officials.