How the Bank of Italy became Bank of America

The Medicis of Italy innovated 'bills of exchange,' precursors to checks

At the time, lending money for interest (also known as usury) was banned in much of the Christian world. The enterprising Medicis developed bills of exchange to allow merchants to promise payment without cash or coin (with some discrete means of earning interest woven in). Learn more about how this family laid the foundation for modern banking.

Bank of America helped establish Visa as a global credit card network business after it rolled out its first credit cards.

At the time, those credit cards were called "BankAmericards." Today, Bank of America owns less than a 2% share of Visa—many other banks (as well as institutional investors) help govern and profit from the network.

How banking works

To do big things, people often need more money. Banks jumpstart economic activity with loans paid back with interest, and when things are working well, both people and the bank make more money. Formed in the Middle Ages amid competing currencies in Italy, banks—from the Italian for bench, banco—helped stimulate that era's commercial revolution, a massive expansion in Mediterranean trade and development. Find out the ins and outs of banks in this quick explainer video.

Early Americans hated the idea of a central bank

After a series of economic panics induced by a lack of reserve cash at regional banks, the architects of today’s Federal Reserve opted to emphasize the goal of the bank as a reserve at the federal level—thus creating the lasting name.

Hamilton founded what many regard as the first commercial bank in the United States

In 1784, Alexander Hamilton helped found the Bank of New York, which initially operated without a charter, financed early federal operations, provided what is considered the US government's first loan, and became the first stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The history of credit cards begins with the 'Fresno Drop.'

On a 1958 morning in Fresno, California, about 60,000 people woke up to find a strange rectangular piece of plastic on their doorstep without explanation. Those chosen for the "Fresno Drop" didn't know it yet, but Bank of America was behind the credit card delivery stunt.

Two of American Express' co-founders also founded Wells Fargo

Henry Wells and William Fargo formed Wells, Fargo & Co. two years after American Express was created. Wells and Fargo saw an opportunity to expand the express delivery service from the East Coast and Middle America to the West Coast. The two initially asked the American Express board to expand operations, but the board declined, so they decided to create their own company. Today, Wells Fargo is among the top four largest banks in the US.

One baker is likely responsible for several of New York's earliest pizzerias

Filippo Milone established at least six pizzerias in New York, including one that would later be called Lombardi's, widely considered to be the city's (and the country's) first pizza establishment. Milone died in 1924, leaving no children to tell his story. Researcher Peter Regas unearthed a 1903 advertisement, pictured below, from an Italian-language New York newspaper.

The Erie Canal transformed New York City into America’s banking capital

By redirecting western trade through New York Harbor, the canal turned New York into the nation’s commercial hub. This surge in commerce shifted financial power from Philadelphia to Wall Street, establishing the city as America’s banking capital.

Meet Alphonse Desjardins, a credit union pioneer

The first credit union opened in Germany in 1864, but the bank alternative didn’t reach North America until 1901. That’s when Canadian journalist Alphonse Desjardins introduced the concept to his hometown with a starter 10-cent deposit. Desjardins helped launch the first US credit union just eight years later. This engaging timeline highlights Desjardins, his contributions to credit unions, and how the institutions have evolved over the last 100-plus years. Scroll through the timeline here.

Explaining the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank—the nation's 16th largest bank at the time—collapsed after a rapid run on its deposits. Among other factors, the bank had placed more than half of its investments into long-term bonds, leaving it without the necessary cash on hand as its clients, largely start ups, panicked and withdrew their money at the same time. This visualization lays out the timeline and impact of the collapse.

How the Kingdom of Italy was unified in the 1860s

In 1861, in a process known as the Risorgimento, many of the traditional regions of Italy—like Sardinia, Lombardy, Parma, and Sicily—were unified within the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II. This movement led to the national Italian identity as we know it today. This unity was opposed by the Pope, and Rome and Venetia remained outside the kingdom for some time.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Famed American investor Jesse Livermore made millions when the stock market crashed in 1929

Livermore made his first major short against rail company Union Pacific in 1906, coincidentally before an earthquake in San Francisco, which ultimately tanked share prices. During a financial panic the next year, JP Morgan reportedly asked Livermore to increase his long-term investments to restore hope and restabilize the market—which Livermore did. However, Livermore began betting against the market in 1929, sensing that stocks were too hot, and was one of the few people to benefit from the 1929 stock crash.

How John D. Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire

From a young age, John D. Rockefeller knew he was interested in business. He worked as a bookkeeper and sold candy prior to starting the business empire that would help cement the Rockefeller name in history: Standard Oil.

Irish music became popular in the US during the 19th century

The influx of Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s, driven by starvation and abysmal employment opportunities, led to a significant Irish-American culture, especially in urban hubs such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Why did Britian's intelligence agency hire Mussolini?

This article explains how and why Benito Mussolini worked for MI5, the British intelligence agency. Before Mussolini ever rose to power as a fascist dictator, he was a journalist who was willing to advocate for Italy to join the allies in World War...

How Chef Boyardee fed America

Chef Boyardee wasn’t just a grocery store staple—it was once a key supplier for US troops in WWII. Founded by Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi, the company produced thousands of canned pasta rations daily.

Multiple junior Bank of America employees have died on the job

Intern Moritz Erhardt died of epilepsy in 2013, after working through nights, and associate Leo Lukenas III died in 2024, from a blood clot after working more than 100 hours per week.

Hollywood alternative Flying A Studios was housed in Santa Barbara for a decade

Founded in 1910 in Chicago, the American Film Company moved west to Santa Barbara to shoot cowboy westerns. For a decade, the studio was prolific, putting out an average of 242 films a year but collapsed within a decade due to a lack of vision.

Al Capone's business structure kept him from ever getting charged for bootlegging

During the Prohibition era, Al Capone sold then-illegal alcohol through people who funneled cash and held bank accounts for him. His name never showed up on any paperwork, meaning it was impossible to actually charge him with bootlegging or any of his violent crimes. But no paper trail for his lavish lifestyle also meant he wasn't paying taxes, which is how prosecutors ultimately put Capone in jail.

Italian banker catches 3-year-old girl falling from a fifth-floor balcony

In Turin, Italy, in August of 2023, a man walking to the bakery with his girlfriend became a hero when he saw a 3-year-old girl climbing out of a fifth-floor window. This article collects social media posts around the incident and explains what...

The life of Anthropic's CEO, and how losing his father inspired his vision for AI

In 2006, Riccardo Amodei passed away from a rare illness, four years before a breakthrough treatment made it 95% curable. Seeking to accelerate scientific progress to prevent similar losses, Dario Amodei shifted his graduate studies at Princeton from theoretical physics to biology and has since pursued technological solutions to address complex biological problems.

How the US entered WWI in 1917

Originally taking a position of neutrality during the course of World War I, the United States of America eventually relented. Entering the war in 1917, support for the British and French had risen and Americans were incensed by Germany's overtures to Mexico and U-boat attacks that sank ships and ended American lives. See how and why the US entered WWI in this article.

The unusual connection between Venice and Byzantium

This article explores the complicated relationship between Venice and the Byzantine Empire. Venice grew up in the shadow of Byzantium, serving as a trade partner and faithful ally for centuries. Gradually, relations grew hostile, and Venetian ships would carry the Fourth Crusade to its fateful rendezvous with Constantinople. Visitors to San Marco can still see marble and porphyry from Constantinople, built into the walls of Venice’s preeminent church.

The history of the Caesar salad

Despite what you might guess from its name, the Caesar salad wasn't invented in ancient Rome. The popular dish was created in the 1920s by two Italian brothers who'd emigrated to the United States and opened a popular restaurant in Tijuana called Caesar's Palace. This history of the popular entrée digs into that history and unpacks how it became a restaurant staple.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.