With support from the University of Richmond

New perspectives on how history is made

Lessons from the 1929 stock market crash

In October 1929 shares on Wall Street fell sharply following a speculative boom during the "Roaring Twenties".

In two days the Dow Jones industrial average fell by 25% (ending on Black Tuesday, 29 October).

The volume of stocks traded set a record that was not broken for 40 years.

When it finally reached its record low in July 1932, the Dow Jones had fallen 89%, and it did not recover to 1929 levels until 1954.

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE?
Debates continue over the causes of the Wall Street crash.

With stocks rising four-fold over the previous decade, it had all the characteristics of a bubble, with stocks in new technologies like radio leading the way up.
Read entire article at BBC