Worst Stock Market Crashes

Worst Stock Market Crashes- It takes approximately 1.8 years to recover!

To make this list, the market (as represented by the Dow) had to be down over 37 percent from high to low!

One interesting note before we get to the list, is that most market crashes are long (lasting over a year) and 6 out of the top 11 crashes started in either September or November.

10th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 1/15/2000
Date Ended: 10/9/2002

Total Days: 999
Starting DJIA: 11,792.98
Ending DJIA: 7,286.27
Total Loss: -37.8%

This crash required the longest recovery time of all crashes in this list. The combination of the tech bubble bursting and the September 11th terrorist attack served a deadly blow to the stock market, but relative to markets past, this was a minor one.

9th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 11/21/1916
Date Ended: 12/19/1917

Total Days: 393
Starting DJIA: 110.15
Ending DJIA: 65.95
Total Loss: -40.1%

As you will see, this market suffered about a 40% loss. It's difficult to break even after a 40% loss. On a $1,000 investment, your portfolio went down to $600. To get back to $1,000, it would have to go up 66.7%!

8th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 9/12/1939
Date Ended: 4/28/1942

Total Days: 959
Starting DJIA: 155.92
Ending DJIA: 92.92
Total Loss: -40.4%

Although this stock market crash only took the 8th spot, it was one of the most grueling. It took nearly 3 years to recover from this crash! With WWII and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the markets had a very tough time.

7th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 1/11/1973
Date Ended: 12/06/1974

Total Days: 694
Starting DJIA: 1051.70
Ending DJIA: 577.60
Total Loss: -45.1%

Another long market crash -one that many people still remember (think Vietnam and the Watergate scandal). This crash lasted for 694 days before bottoming out.

6th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 6/17/1901
Date Ended: 11/9/1903

Total Days: 875
Starting DJIA: 57.33
Ending DJIA: 30.88
Total Loss: -46.1%

This is the oldest crash to make the list (DJIA records are not available before 1900).

The 5th worst stock market crash:
Date Started: 11/3/1919
Date Ended: 8/24/1921

Total Days: 660
Starting DJIA: 119.62
Ending DJIA: 63.9
Total Loss: -46.6%

This crash followed a post war boom (Stock prices rose 51%). After the crash bottomed out in August of 1921, this decade saw tremendous growth in the stock market and the economy.

4th Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 9/3/1929
Date Ended: 11/13/1929

Total Days: 71
Starting DJIA: 381.17
Ending DJIA: 198.69
Total Loss: -47.9%

Although this is the shortest market crash observed, it was a deadly one. Investors saw almost half their money disappear in just two months. Often this crash is the worst in most people's minds. This crash kicked off what we now know as the "Great Depression." This crash kicked off what we now know as the "Great Depression."

3rd Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 1/19/1906
Date Ended: 11/15/1907

Total Days: 665
Starting DJIA: 75.45
Ending DJIA: 38.83
Total Loss: -48.5%

This crash was called the "Panic of 1907." The U.S. Treasury department bought 36 million dollars worth of government bonds to offset the decline (and remember, $36 million translates to a much bigger number in today's dollars).

2nd Worst Stock Market Crash:
Date Started: 3/10/1937
Date Ended: 3/31/1938

Total Days: 386
Starting DJIA: 194.40
Ending DJIA: 98.95
Total Loss: -49.1%

Just when investors thought the market was finally good again, following a recovery of almost half of the great depression losses, the market plunged again due to war scare and Wall street scandals.

Worst Stock Market Crash Ever:
Date Started: 4/17/1930
Date Ended: 7/8/1932

Total Days: 813
Starting DJIA: 294.07
Ending DJIA: 41.22
Total Loss: -86.0%

This is the grand daddy of them all. Investors lost 86% of their money over this 813 day beast. This market crash combined with the 1929 crash, characterizes the Great Depression. If you had $1000 on 9/3/1929 (beginning of the 4th worst crash, it would have gone down to a whopping $108.14 by July 8th, 1932 (end of the worst crash) or an 89.2% loss. To recover from a loss like that, you would have to watch your portfolio go up 825%! The full recovery didn't take place until 1954, 22 years later!

[More Here]