(Reuters) - Tumbling stock markets and fears of a recession led the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday to make a surprise 75 basis point interest rate cut.

Many investors had anticipated a sharp correction as banks around the world have announced billions of dollars of losses linked to their exposure to defaulting U.S. subprime mortgages.

Following is a glimpse into the impact of some of the biggest stock market falls in history:

* 1929:

-- An unprecedented stock boom in the United States in the summer of 1929 was followed by one of the biggest crashes in history. The crash, which started in October 1929, heralded the beginning of the "Great Depression" of the 1930s.

-- On September 3, 1929, Dow Industrials hit a record peak of 381, a level it would not touch again for over two decades. The Dow eventually plunged 48 percent in just 10 weeks.

* The response:

-- The Fed had limited powers 80 years ago and it was overwhelmed by the Depression. In the 1930s, policies followed by then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped his country emerge from worldwide economic depression.

* 1987