Black Monday 1929: Wall Street Crash Deepens
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 12.82% on October 28, 1929, the worst single-day percentage loss in its history at that point. The crash came four days after Black Thursday's initial panic. Bankers who had propped up the market on Thursday did not intervene on Monday. Margin calls cascaded as brokers demanded cash from investors who had borrowed heavily to buy stocks. Those who couldn't pay saw their shares sold at any price. The following day, Black Tuesday, the Dow fell another 11.73% on record volume of 16.4 million shares. By mid-November, the market had lost 40% of its value. The crash destroyed consumer confidence, wiped out banks, and triggered a contraction in lending that strangled businesses across the country. The Great Depression that followed lasted a decade.
October 28, 1929
97 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 28
The Praetorian Guard forced Emperor Nerva to adopt Trajan as his heir. Nerva was 66 and childless. The Guard had murdered his predecessor. They wanted a militar…
Maxentius declared himself Roman Emperor after his father's failed comeback attempt. The Praetorian Guard backed him. Rome's citizens backed him. The actual emp…
Constantine's army faced Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber on October 28, 312, outnumbered by perhaps three to one. Ancient sources claim Constanti…
Visigothic forces sacked Braga, capital of the Suevi kingdom in northwest Iberia. They burned the city's churches to the ground. The Suevi had converted to Cath…
Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes scaled Antioch's walls at night with a small force and seized two towers. The city had been in Arab hands for 340 years. Bour…
Byzantine forces recaptured Antioch in 969 after 333 years of Arab rule. Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas sent his best general, Michael Bourtzes, who climbed the w…
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