Financier. He received notoriety as one of the most prominent bankers and money men of the post-Civil War era of the Gilded Age. He teamed with multi-millionaire Jay Gould, who was known for being a ruthless, unscrupulous and despised but successful businessman. He and Gould successfully fought Cornelius Vanderbilt for control of the Erie Railroad by plundering the railroad's assets and issuing $5 million in fraudulent stock from 1868 to 1870. He, Gould, and two other men are credited in covering the stock market in loose gold, which cause the release of the Federal gold reserve, and resulting in the financial panic of "Black Friday" on September 24, 1869. With public outcry, they were taken to court, but with the best lawyers that money could buy, they were not found guilty, but had to pay a heavy fine or restitution. Involvement in this ordeal included a family member in President Grant's White House. Part of a love triangle, he was murdered by a former associate, who was also part of the love triangle and had unsuccessfully tried to extort money from him. Born the son of a peddler, he left school to join the circus for a time, returning home to become a peddler. After failing in that business at least once, he made wealth by speculations and lost money by speculations several times. In 1864 he became a stockbroker in New York City. In 1854 he married a 15-year-old orphan, Lucy Moore. He was known for having several public scandalous extramarital affairs, such with Josie Mansfield, a buxom showgirl. During their years-long relationship, he had given Mansfield several thousands of dollars along with priceless jewelry. At one point, Mansfield left Fisk for Edward Stokes, who was Fisk's business colleague. Mansfield and Stokes attempted to blackmail Fisk with 39 letters written to Mansfield, proving that he had committed a crime. When he refused the pay the blackmail money, Stokes shot him twice in a New York City hotel on January 6, 1872. One gunshot wound was to the abdomen, causing him to die the next day after naming Strokes as the assailant. Claiming self-defense, Stokes was subsequently tried three times for Fisk's death: First, for first-degree murder, which ended in a hung jury; the second found him guilty of first-degree murder, sentencing him to death but the verdict was overturned by appeal; and the third was a guilty finding of manslaughter with a sentence four to six years at Sing Sing Prison. Stroke was released in October of 1876. Thousands of mourners attended Fisk's funeral. Before any trials, the Fisk's 39 letters to Mansfield were published in the "New York Herald" a week after the funeral, proving they were simple love letters and did not document any corrupt business dealings. W.B. Bank's 2011 biography "The Murder of Jim Fisk for the Love of Josie Mansfield: A Tragedy of the Gilded Age," goes into great detail of Fisk's life and the trial that followed.