Henry Lehman (c. 1822 – November 17, 1855) was a German-American businessman and the founder of Lehman Brothers financial services, which declared bankruptcy in 2008.
Hayum Lehmann was born to a Jewish family, the son of a cattle merchant Abraham Löw Lehmann in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg, Lehman emigrated to the United States in 1844. He settled in Montgomery, Alabama, and opened a dry goods store named, "H. Lehman". In 184...
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Henry Lehman (c. 1822 – November 17, 1855) was a German-American businessman and the founder of Lehman Brothers financial services, which declared bankruptcy in 2008.
Hayum Lehmann was born to a Jewish family, the son of a cattle merchant Abraham Löw Lehmann in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg, Lehman emigrated to the United States in 1844. He settled in Montgomery, Alabama, and opened a dry goods store named, "H. Lehman". In 1847, following the arrival of his younger brother Emanuel Lehman, the firm became, "H. Lehman and Bro." With the 1850 arrival of Mayer Lehman, the youngest brother, the firm became "Lehman Brothers".
In those years, cotton was the most important crop of the Southern United States. Capitalizing on cotton's extremely high market value around the world, the Lehman brothers became cotton factors, accepting cotton bales from customers as payment for their merchandise. They eventually began a second business as traders in cotton. Within a few years,...
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