On 24 September 1869, Wall Street descended into chaos during the infamous Black Friday, a day marked by financial turmoil sparked by the actions of investors Jay Gould and James Fisk.
The two financiers had devised a scheme to corner the gold market by driving up prices, hoping to reap enormous profits.
However, their plan unravelled when President Ulysses S Grant, realising the dangerous inflationary effects of their manipulation, ordered the US Treasury to release a substantial amount of gold into the market.
This intervention caused the gold prices to crash, leading to a rapid plummet in stock values and leaving investors in disarray.
The ripple effect of this catastrophe was felt across the country, bankrupting many and marking one of the most dramatic financial disasters in American history.
