Black Friday
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Black Friday
Black Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, in U.S. history, day of financial panic. In 1869 a small group of American financial speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fisk, sought the support of federal officials of the Grant administration in a drive to corner the gold market. The attempt failed when government gold was released for sale. The drive culminated on a Friday, when thousands were ruined—the day is popularly called Black Friday. There was great indignation against the perpetrators. Several other days of financial panic have also been occasionally referred to as Black Friday.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Black Friday
(Apr. 15, 1921), in Great Britain, the day that opportunist leaders of the “triple alliance” of miners, railway-men, and transport workers thwarted a sympathy strike planned by railwaymen and transport workers in support of miners locked out by the coal industry. A few hours before the strike was to take place, the union leaders canceled it against the wishes of the rank and file. Forced to strike alone, the miners were defeated. After Black Friday the bourgeoisie launched a broad frontal attack on the working people and nullified many of the victories that had been won during the upsurge in the class struggle between 1918 and 1921.
REFERENCES
Gurovich, P. V. Pod”em rabochego dvizheniia v Anglii v 1918–1921 gg. Moscow, 1956.The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Black Friday
Various
Black Friday usually refers either to the infamous Wall Street Panic of September 24, 1869, when Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to "corner" the gold market, or to September 19, 1873, when stock failures caused the Panic of 1873. In England, it is often used by workers to describe May 12, 1926, the day on which the General Strike was ended. It is occasionally used to refer to Good Friday.
Shoppers and retailers in the United States sometimes refer to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because it marks the beginning of the Christmas commercial season and is traditionally a frenetic day of shopping.
Shoppers and retailers in the United States sometimes refer to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because it marks the beginning of the Christmas commercial season and is traditionally a frenetic day of shopping.
SOURCES:
DictDays-1988, p. 12
(c)
DictDays-1988, p. 12
(c)
Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.
Black Friday
day of financial panic (1869). [Am. Hist.: RHDC]
See: Bankruptcy
Black Friday
(September 24, 1869) gold speculation led to financial panic. [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 259]
See: Conspiracy
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.