Cooke, Jay (1821–1905), a United States banker, known as the "financier of the Civil War," His role has been compared to that of Robert Morris during the Revolutionary War. Cooke was born in Sandusky, Ohio. By 1861 he had founded the banking house of Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia. When the Civil War broke out Cooke raised $2,000,000 from his banker friends in a few hours. His firm sold treasury bonds to the public to meet the immense needs of the government.

In the 1870's Cooke's firm undertook to finance the building of the Northern Pacific railway but the firm went bankrupt before the railway was completed. The panic of 1873 resulted. Later Cooke paid his debts and regained a fortune through investments in the West.