Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a historic American global financial services firm and investment bank founded in 1850 by German immigrant brothers Henry, Emanuel, and Mayer Lehman in Montgomery, Alabama. Initially operating as a general store, the business quickly pivoted to commodities trading, particularly in cotton, before expanding into a major Wall Street firm. Over its 158-year history, Lehman Brothers evolved from a commodities brokerage into a full-service investment bank, surviving major economic upheavals including the Civil War, both World Wars, the 1929 stock market crash, and the Great Depression. By the late 20th century, it had become a powerhouse on Wall Street, engaging in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, investment management, private equity, and private banking, serving corporations, governments, institutions, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Under the leadership of executives like Peterson during its expansion phase and later Richard Fuld, the firm experienced explosive growth in the 1990s and 2000s, with revenues surging from $2.7 billion to $60 billion by 2007. Headquartered in New York City, it employed around 25,000 people globally and maintained a complex corporate structure with numerous subsidiaries. However, its aggressive pursuit of high-risk opportunities in mortgage-backed securities and subprime lending exposed it to significant vulnerabilities. During the 2008 financial crisis, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008, in the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, with $639 billion in assets and $613 billion in liabilities. The collapse triggered global market turmoil, intensified the credit crisis, and prompted widespread regulatory reforms such as the Dodd-Frank Act, marking a pivotal event that contributed to the broader financial crisis.