Black Friday happened on September 24, 1869, in Grant’s first term as president. It occurred when two Wall Street speculators, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, attempted to buy up all the gold at the financial markets. Their attempts to corner the market led to a financial panic that forced the closing of the stock market. Unfortunately, Gould and Fisk were friends with Grant’s brother-in-law Abel Rathbone Corbin, husband to Grant’s sister Virginia.