The crash that made 'bubble' a financial term

In 1720, shares of Britain's South Sea Company rocketed from about 128 to over 1,000 pounds after it took over the national debt — then collapsed within months, ruining investors including Isaac Newton. The inquiry that followed found ministers had taken bribes, and the scandal helped bring Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister, to power.

— Encyclopaedia Britannica, South Sea Bubble — Britannica Money