Giannini..........................

A. P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy (in San Francisco) in 1904 for the specific purpose of serving "the little guy."  His finest hour came in the direct aftermath of the Great Earthquake in 1906, when, amid the rubble, his bank was back making loans in a matter of days.  He grew the Bank of Italy well.  In 1928 it became The Bank of America.  A broader, but still short, picture of the man, his philosophy, and his accomplishments can be found here.   He certainly should make the short list of  "the most important Americans that people have never heard of."