In December 2000, Chase Manhattan bank accquired J.P. Morgan & Co and renamed it as JP Morgan Chase. J.P. Morgan & Co was founded by John Pierpont Morgan in 1871 while Chase Manhattan Bank started off as The Chase National Bank, founded in 1877 by John Thompson. The name Chase was named after the former US Treasury Secretary and Chief Justice Salmon.P. Chase (though he has no connection with the bank).
