James Boorman Colgate son of William Colgate

William Colgate

William Colgate was an American manufacturer who founded what became the Colgate toothpaste company in 1806.- History :...

, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 financier

Financier

Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...

. He was born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and received his first training in the house of Boorman, Johnston, and Company. In 1852, he formed a partnership with John Bond Trevor

John Bond Trevor

John Bond Trevor was an American financier and Wall Street pioneer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , he moved to New York City in 1849. In 1850 he became a member of the New York Stock Exchange and entered into brokerage with the firm of Carpenter, Van Dyke & Trevor. That venture was dissolved...

 and opened the banking house of Trevor and Colgate; this company dealt in stocks, securities and precious metals and regulated a large portion of the gold and paper exchange during the Civil War. He was one of the founders of the New York Gold Exchange

New York Gold Exchange

The New York Gold Exchange was an exchange formed near the beginning of the Civil War for the purpose of creating an open market for transactions involving gold and the government-created paper currency, the greenback...

 and was for several years its president. In 1873, the firm changed its name to J. B. Colgate and Company. His extensive loans to the federal government during the financial crisis of 1873

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

 contributed materially to the reestablishment of confidence both in the United States and the markets of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. As trustee of Colgate (formerly Madison) University

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

, he for 30 years made almost annual donations to that institution, the development of which is due chiefly to his constant care and valuable advice. New International Encyclopedia

New International Encyclopedia

The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...

Colgate is also the namesake

Namesake

Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....

 for the town of Colgate, a small unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Steele County

Steele County, North Dakota

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,258 people, 923 households, and 635 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile . There were 1,231 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...

, North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 founded in 1882. Colgate was the county's largest landowner, with 5000 acres (20.2 km²) that he purchased from the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1880.