List of Stock Market Crashes

by Contributing Writer

What goes up must come down. It might be a law of gravity but it seems as if it can be applied to the history of the stock market as well. While the story is always different, the crashes seem to be equally painful for the shareholders of the company and the masses of people affected by those companies' losses. BusinessDictionary.com defines a crash as a "precipitous and rapid decline (that may persist for months or years) in the prices of shares traded on a stock exchange, caused by panic selling." Here is a list of some of the worst stock market crashes in the history of the United States.
The Crashes that Made The Great Depression

From the crash of 1929 that started the Great Depression to the 1930-1932 crash that made it truly great, the market dropped from 381.17 to 41.22, losing over 89% of its total value. 1. Worst Stock Market Crash Ever: 1930-1932 Following the excessive exuberance and greed of the "Roaring Twenties," the market crashed and investors lost 86% of their money over 813 days. 2. Stock Market Crash of 1929 The fourth worst market crash with a loss of 47.9%. It kicked off the Great Depression. 3. Stock Market Crash of 1937-1938 Second worst market crash with a loss of 49.1%. The aftermath of the Great Depression was initiated by war scares and Wall Street scandals.

World War II Market Crash: 1939 -- 1942

After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the American entry into WWII, the country's vulnerability was felt directly on Wall St. It suffered a 40.4% loss between 1939 and 1942.
The Crash of 1987

Known as "Black Monday," it refers to Monday, October 19, 1987, when The Dow dropped 508 points, or 22.6%, in a single trading day. It was the worst one-day percentage decline in stock market history.
Internet Bubble Crash and 9/11

The overvalued stocks of Internet start-ups and the corporate corruption of such companies as Enron and Worldcom began the crash. The terrorist attack of 9/11 only made it worse. As the 10th worst crash in history, the market lost 37.8% of its value.
Stock Market Crash of 2008

Four of the top five worst daily point losses in the history of the stock market occurred in late 2008 after a massive credit crisis brought on by the collapse of a global housing bubble in 2006.