I have just watched the movie 'Seabiscuit' and the narrator confidently claims that the scenes of ruined investors throwing themselves out of windows after the Wall Street crash is a myth. Did it happen or not?

lanfranco

Apparently, in chapter 8 of his book "The Great Crash: 1929" (1955), the recently-deceased economist John Kenneth Galbraith stated that a purported wave of suicides really was a myth and mostly media hype. Scroll down to "Chapter 8: Aftermath I: The Myth of Suicides During the Great 1929 Crash" for brief extracts from the book, pp. 148-49: http://lachlan.bluehaze.com.au/books/galbraith_1929crash.html May 27 06, 5:34 PM

casperone123

alright mate. Infact, it is just a myth as this website clearly states. Good question though. http://lachlan.bluehaze.com.au/books/galbraith_1929crash.html May 27 06, 5:40 PM

Babba06

Although people did not jump out of windows...the market was crashing and the floor of the NYSE was in a state of panic. By noon on Black Thursday, there had been eleven suicides of fairly prominent investors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929 May 27 06, 7:55 PM

SENTENTIA06

There is no evidence that anyone leapt to their death because of the market crash, although several did shoot themselves. One man decided to end his misery by leaving his gas stove on and then taking a long nap. And then there was the guy who had a heart attack at his broker's office watching the dropping numbers on the ticker tape. The one person reported to jump from an upper floor of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, did so several days before the market tumbled. Will Rogers, the great humorist, picked up on it and included the "jumping out of windows" in his routine for a number of years, and so the legend. http://www.atozinvestments.com/1929-stock-market-crash.html More... That's not to say that a few failed investors, executives, etc., didn't kill themselves in the wake of the crash. But the suicides happened all around the country, didn't necessarily involve jumping out the window, and for the most part didn't take place immediately following the crash. For example: * On Friday, November 8, J.J. Riordan, president of the County Trust Company, took a pistol from a teller's cage at his bank, went to his home in downtown Manhattan, and shot himself. The news was suppressed until after the bank closed at noon Saturday, to avoid causing a run on the bank. * A vice president of the Earl Radio Corporation jumped to his death from the window of a Manhattan hotel. His suicide note read, "We are broke. Last April I was worth $100,000. Today I am $24,000 in the red." But this happened in early October, weeks before the crash. * Jesse Livermore, perhaps the most famous of the Wall Street speculators, shot himself--but not until 1940. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020830.html May 28 06, 9:21 AM

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1 The Wall Street Crash of 1929 You won't hear much about this from your stockbroker. Don your crash helmet, take this quiz and see why. USA in the 20th.Century Difficult 10 Q urlybird Aug 31 07 1071 plays 2 "Seabiscuit", The Movie I've watched this movie at least 5,000 times! See how well you know this outstanding movie about the incredible depression racehorse, the 3 struggling men, and all of the great details! Sa - Sf Movies Tough 10 Q trivia_chic12 Apr 25 04 480 plays 3 Wall Street This will test your general knowledge of the greatest movie from the 80s. Wall Street Average 10 Q scothend Jul 20 01 1329 plays