Chase Bank

The Chese Bank is one of the largest banks in the USA, and it traces its name and history back to the Chase National Bank, which was founded in 1877 by John Thompson.

Thompson named the bank after his friend and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Salmon P. Chase, who passed away a few years earlier in 1873.

In 1955, Chase National merged with The Manhattan Company, which founded by Aaron Burr in 1799. Burr later went on to become President for one term between 1801 and 1805.

The Manhattan Company was originally setup to supply to help supply fresh water to New York City, after a series of epidemics hit the city hard. For its initial capital raising, the company rustled up around US$2 million, only US$100,000 of which was set aside for water pipes, the rest was allocated for its new banking licence.

Using wooden planks, The Manhattan Company’s pipes caused more problems than they solved.

The bank’s octagon logo, which was developed after the Chase Manhattan Bank was formed in 1955, is a stylised version of The Manhattan Company’s pipes.

Chase has been part of JPMorgan Chase since the bank bought J.P Morgan in 2001.

Source: History of JPMorgan Chase & Co
Header image: Times Square Chase Bank by Jim, The Photographer on Flickr