The Wall Street crash of 1929.
The stock market crash of 1929 was a culmination of 3 days: Black Thursday (24th October), Black Monday (28th October), and Black Tuesday (29th October). By the end of November, an estimated 100 billion dollars had been lost, with the market losing about 40% of its value.
The stock market crash marked the end of a prosperous time, the 1920s. After World War I, the “Roaring Twenties” was fuelled by increased industrialisation and new technologies – including the radio and the automobile. As the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared, many investors snapped up shares. Stocks seemed to be safe. Investors soon purchased more and more stock. From 1921 to 1929, the Dow Jones skyrocketed from 60 to 400! People made millions instantly. Soon, stock market trading became America’s favourite pastime. Investors mortgaged their homes, and unwisely invested their life savings in popular stocks such as Ford and RCA. To the average investor, stocks were a sure thing. Most investors never considered the possibility of a failing market. To them, the stock market “always went up”.