"Sooner or later a crash is coming, and it may be terrific," Babson said, according to John Kenneth Galbraith in "The Great Crash 1929." Babson also said that "factories will shut down"¦men will be thrown out of work"¦the vicious circle will get in full swing and the result will be a serious business depression."
"...There may be a stampede for selling which will exceed anything that the Stock Exchange has ever witnessed," Babson warned, according to reports in the New York Times. "Wise are those investors who now get out of debt and reef their sails."
Babson made these remarks on September 5, 1929 during a speech to the Annual National Business Conference on the Babson College campus.
News of his prediction -- received on Wall Street by mid-afternoon " caused the market to retreat by about 3%. This decline in the market is known as the "Babson Break."
More info on Roger Babson is available at the Babson College Library web site: http://www3.babson.edu/About/History.cfm. Babson College is home to the Roger Ward Babson Museum.
Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.
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