|
October 24
1861. In the midst of war, the transcontinental telegraph is completed, signalling the end for the 18 month old Pony Express.
1929. Black Thursday signals the beginning of the Great Depression. A then-record 12.9 million shares trade hands as the market undergoes systemic collapse. A group of leading Wall Street bankers intervene, tasking the President of the NYSE to act on their behalf and put in bids at price well above ask for US Steel and several other blue chip companies -- the same strategy that J.P. Morgan had used to stabilize the market in 1907. It offers only a temporary respite from the freefall.
Over the weekend, the papers cover the fall. On Monday, more investors pull out, and the market falls a then-record 13%. Rumors that President Hoover will not veto the Hawley-Smoot tariff bill puts further pressure on stocks. Several famous financiers, led by John D. Rockefeller (THE Rockefeller), lead an effort to stabilize stocks by making large purchase orders. Their efforts fail. On Black Tuesday, October 29, a new record is set when 16 million shares trade, and the market loses another 12 percent. The record for shares traded will stand for 40 years, until 1968.
1931. The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic.
1944. The Japanese Carrier Zuikaku, one of the six Japanese carriers involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor, is sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
1945. Founding of the United Nations.
|