Englishman Who Fooled America

William Duer created the first U.S. stock market crash in 1792 using stock and bond options. Had it not been dealt with as effectively as it was, it might have destroyed the financial revolution. Duer showed that financial markets are vulnerable to manipulation, swindles, and fraud, after attempting to corner the market of United States government bonds in 1791-1792. Despite the fact that it led to more effective securities trading and clearing systems, it took regulators over 200 years to understand that more serious changes should be made to protect the market stability.