Hartford, CONNECTICUT - Aetna Life & Fire Insurance Co. - 1910:  During the 19th century, a number of insurance companies established their headquarters in the city of Hartford, earning it the nickname, the “Insurance Capital of the World.” As time went on, the presence of insurance giants became vital to the social, economic, and political fabric of the capital city. One of the most successful insurance companies to emerge during this period was Aetna. Over time, Aetna, whose headquarters still reside in Hartford, emerged as the nation’s largest health insurer. It remains one of the local area’s leading employers.  In the spring of 1819, a number of prominent Hartford businessmen and merchants at Morgan’s Exchange Coffee House became embroiled in a heated discussion regarding the efficiency and practicality of the state’s fire insurance industry. It was this exchange at the popular State Street social spot that sowed the seeds for what eventually became the Aetna Fire Insurance Company, and later, Aetna Inc. After deeming Connecticut’s existing fire insurance companies insufficient to meet the demands of the commercial expansion in the state’s cities, 137 business and social leaders from the Hartford area, led by Thomas K. Brace, drew up a petition to establish a new insurance company. The petition outlined the fragility of the state’s existing insurance industry, noting, “It is presumed that each of the existing offices have undertaken risks to an amount greater than the capital of them all, and should a conflagration take place, in some of our towns, as disastrous as has been experienced in many places, it is greatly to be feared many of the sufferers would too late discover their insecurity.”  This Divided Back Era postcard, mailed in 1910, shows Aetna's original headquarters.  The card is in good condition.  SL & Co. E-6219.  Germany.