John Ellis

John Ellis was an Ohio merchant, financier, and civic leader who served as the first president of First National Bank of Cincinnati upon its incorporation in 1863. Recognizing the urgent necessity of a standardized national currency during the American Civil War, Ellis organized Cincinnati's leading business figures to subscribe capital and apply for a charter under Lincoln's National Bank Act. On July 13, 1863, Ellis secured National Charter #24, guiding the bank through post-war reconstruction and establishing the legal entity that lives on today as U.S. Bank National Association.