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James Fisk, Jr. ( April 1 , 1834 – January 6 , 1872 ), known variously as "Big Jim," "Diamond Jim," and "Jubilee Jim," was an American Financier . Fisk was born in Bennington , Vermont . After a brief period in school he ran away and joined a Circus . Later he became a hotel Waiter , and finally adopted the business of his father, a peddler. He then became a salesman for a Boston dry goods firm, his aptitude and energy eventually winning for him a share in the business. By his shrewd dealing in army contracts during the Civil War , and, by some accounts, Cotton Smuggling , he accumulated considerable wealth, which he soon lost in speculation. In 1864 he became a Stockbroker in New York and was employed by Daniel Drew as a buyer. He aided Drew in his war against Cornelius Vanderbilt for control of the Erie Railroad , which resulted in Fisk and Jay Gould becoming members of the Erie directorate. Subsequently, a well-planned raid netted Fisk and Gould control of the Railroad . The association with Gould continued until his death. They carried financial buccaneering to extremes, their program including open alliance with Boss Tweed , the wholesale bribery of legislatures, and the buying of judges. Their attempt to Corner the gold market culminated in the fateful Black Friday of September 24 , 1869 . Fisk had several extramarital Affair s. His wife spent the years of their marriage living with a woman friend, suggesting that she was a Homosexual and had no sexual relationship with her husband. Fisk became involved in a dispute with business associate Edward S. Stokes over money and Broadway showgirl Josie Mansfield , and Stokes shot and killed him in New York City on January 6, 1872. Actor Edward Arnold portrayed Fisk in the 1937 Movie The Toast Of New York , which starred Arnold and Cary Grant . The movie was a fictionalized account of the lives of Fisk and Stokes. REFERENCES |
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