John Jeremiah Jacob (October 20, 1778[1] – 1852) was an American businessman, financier, real estate developer, and philanthropist active in Kentucky.
He was involved in banking, as well as in commerce, real estate, and infrastructure: railroads, canal, bridge, and utilities.
[1][2] As a young man he met Thomas Prather in Philadelphia, and became inspired by his talk of the frontier.
His land holdings included much of the eventual central business district and Jacob's Woods, the area presently bounded by Fifth, Preston, Broadway, and Breckinridge streets.
[4] In 1811 John J. Jacob married Anne Overton Fontaine, sister-in-law of his partner Thomas Prather[2] in 1811.