FEBRUARY 27, 1867 – BIRTH OF IRVING FISHER, MATHEMATICAL ECONOMIST

1867 – BIRTH OF IRVING FISHER, MATHEMATICAL ECONOMIST
“If two parties instead of being a bank and an individual, were an individual and an individual, they could not inflate the circulating medium by loan transaction; for the simple reason that the lender could not lend what he didn't have as banks can do ... Only commercial banks and trust companies can lend money that they manufacture by lending it.” 100% Money (1935)

FEBRUARY 27, 1844 – DEATH OF NICHOLAS BIDDLE, PRESIDENT OF SECOND NATIONAL BANK

1844 – DEATH OF NICHOLAS BIDDLE, PRESIDENT OF SECOND NATIONAL BANK
Biddle threatened to cause a depression if President Andrew Jackson did not re-charter the Bank. The privately owned Second Bank was chartered in 1816. President Jackson did not sign the bill to renew the charter. "This worthy President thinks that ... he is to have his way with the Bank. He is mistaken...[opposition] can only be broken by the actual conviction of exiting distress in the community... Our only safety is in pursuing a steady course of firm restriction [of the money supply] - and I have no doubt that such a course will ultimately lead to restoration of the currency and the re-charter of the Bank." The result of the contraction of the money supply was a financial panic followed by a deep depression. (Edward Kaplan, The Bank of the United States and the American Economy)