Luther Kountze (October 29, 1841 – April 17, 1918) was an American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, responsible for helping the city of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in a time of need and leaving a philanthropic legacy in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. He founded a late-19th century national banking dynasty along with his brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

and

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. From 1858 to 1862, Luther worked at the

Kountze Brothers Bank Herman Kountze (August 21, 1833 – November 20, 1906) was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and h ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, which was operated by his brothers Augustus and Herman. Late in 1862, he went to Denver, Colorado, where he opened a bank under the name of Kountze Brothers and listed his brothers as senior members. In 1866, they organized the

Colorado National Bank Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

of Denver.Hill, E.C. (1919) ''The Historical Register, Illustrated with Portrait Plates.'' p. 226. After a great fire engulfed much of the city in 1867, Kountze was credited with saving the city of

from financial disaster, and ultimately, oblivion. Late that year and into the next, Kountze worked with several other investors to form the company that would eventually become the Denver Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Co. Delbartonkountzemansion

Luther left Colorado for New York in 1867. In 1868, he established the Kountze Brothers Bank at 52 Wall Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. His brother Augustus later joined him there, where they traded securities and bonds. In 1908, U.S. Senator

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

included him in the "100 men who controlled banking." He was then vice-president and a director of the

United States Mortgage and Trust Company United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

. In 1881, Luther moved to

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and built an English-style estate designed by George E. Harney. He died in 1918, leaving an estate valued at $4,973,950.Description of estate assets
''New York Times.'' November 29, 1922. Kountze was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Opera House Company. He contributed a large part of the land that now forms the National

Jockey Hollow Jockey Hollow is the name for an area in southern Morris County, New Jersey farmed in the 18th century by the Wick, Guerin and Kemble families. The origin of the name is still uncertain, but was used as such at the time of the American Revolution ...

Park in Morristown, NJ.

References

1841 births 1918 deaths Businesspeople from Denver Morristown, New Jersey American bankers

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

19th-century American businesspeople People from Stark County, Ohio American philanthropists {{US-business-bio-1840s-stub