The 1869 U.S. financial panic caused by an attempted gold-market corner is known as Black Friday.
Speculators Jay Gould and James Fisk sought to drive up the price of gold while relying on political connections, including access to President Ulysses S. Grant’s circle. The plan unraveled when the government sold gold on 24 September 1869, rapidly increasing supply. Gold prices plunged, and the shock spread through financial markets.
Black Friday was not a stock-market crash in the same sense as 1929 or 1987; it began in the gold market and triggered turmoil in stocks, commodities and commercial credit. The panic damaged confidence and ruined many speculators. It is also easy to confuse this event with later “Black Friday” labels, especially the 1929 and 1987 market episodes, which occurred in different decades and had different causes.