Tue Oct 27 · 6:30pm
Lectures on Tap — Gold & Greed: One of Wall Street's Greatest Scandals
Dan Breen, Professor of Legal Studies at Brandeis University, recounts the September 1869 attempt by Jay Gould, “The Mephistopheles of Wall Street,” and “Jubilee Jim” Fisk to corner the U.S. gold market through their influence with President Ulysses S. Grant. He follows the scheme’s collapse on the day remembered as “Black Friday” and its lasting effect on American finance. Breen’s book on Boston’s public monuments is due in 2027.