1929 London Crash

About 1929 London Crash

The London Stock Exchange crashed in September 1929, two months before Wall Street. The crash was triggered by the collapse of the Hatry Group, an industrial conglomerate built on fraud. Clarence Hatry had used forged shares as collateral for loans. The Hatry collapse forced London banks to tighten credit, contributing to the Wall Street crash in October. The London crash was less severe than Wall Streets, but British markets suffered for years. The episode is often forgotten because the Wall Street crash was more dramatic. Hatry was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The London crash preceded and worsened the global depression.