Morgan, Junius S.

Morgan, Junius S. (Spencer) (1813–90) banker; born in West Springfield, Mass. (father of John Pierpont Morgan, 1837–1913). He grew up in Hartford and worked as a clerk in a dry goods house. He joined the London firm of George Peabody & Company (1854) which became J. S. Morgan & Company (1864–90). Although he spent more than half his life abroad, he remained influential in New York and Connecticut. His firm sided with the Union during the Civil War and secured an important $50 million loan for France during the Franco-Prussian War (1870). Among his philanthropies, he founded a free library in Hartford.