But the relief was short-lived. After a nervous weekend for much of America, there was a rush of selling on Monday 28 October. It went down in history as Black Monday, with the Dow ending the day 13% lower The following day the drama continued and the colour remained the same. The Dow shed another 12% on Black Tuesday when 16m shares were sold — a record that stood for 40 years. It closed at 230.07 points – having been as high as 381.17 at the start of the previous month.

Photograph: Hulton archive/Getty