The 1869 U.S. financial panic caused by an attempted cornering of the gold market was called Black Friday.
Financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to control the U.S. gold market by buying large quantities of gold. They hoped that a higher gold price would benefit holders of agricultural commodities and their related interests. The effort was complicated by the belief that the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant might be influenced or would delay selling government gold.
On September 24, 1869, the U.S. Treasury intervened by selling gold, causing its price to fall and triggering panic in financial markets. Gould and Fisk escaped complete financial ruin, but many speculators suffered major losses. The episode became known as Black Friday, a name later reused for other market crises and commercial events. It is distinct from Black Friday in 1929-related accounts and from the modern retail-shopping term.