Timeline January 1720

Events in January 1720 3

• 1720 Mississippi Bubble collapses John Law's paper-money scheme ruins French finances John Law's Mississippi Company, granted a monopoly on French colonial trade and tied to a new paper currency, collapsed after a wave of speculation drove its shares to absurd heights. Panic selling in the spring and summer wiped out investors' fortunes and discredited Law's banking system. Law fled France in December, leaving the country's finances in disarray.
• 1720 South Sea Bubble bursts Stock collapse ruins thousands of British investors Shares in the South Sea Company, inflated by speculation over its monopoly on trade with Spanish America, collapsed in September after months of frenzied buying. Parliament investigated the scandal, revealing bribery among ministers and company directors. The crash ruined many investors, including members of the nobility, and prompted new restrictions on joint-stock companies.
• 1720 – 1777 Samuel Foote (1720-1777) Died 21 October 1777, aged 57 English actor, playwright, and theatre manager known for satirical comedies and sharp mimicry of public figures. He held the royal patent for the Haymarket Theatre in London. Scandal and declining health forced him to sell his patent shortly before his death.