Thomas Guy

As the stock price rose, investors piled in, and South Sea shares hit £500 on May 28 and closed at £720 on June 1, a gain of 50% in just four days.

Thomas Guy was the son of a carpenter who learned enough Latin and Greek at school to be taken on as an apprentice book dealer at the age of 16.

He set up his own business at the age of 24, securing big clients like Oxford University.

He later branched out into publishing.