Black Tuesday, the worst trading day of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, occurred on October 29, 1929.
On that day, about 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, a record at the time. Prices collapsed as investors rushed to sell, following heavy losses on Black Thursday and Black Monday.
The crash did not single-handedly cause the Great Depression, but it exposed severe weaknesses in the American economy. Speculation, buying stocks on margin, falling industrial output, and fragile banks all contributed to the wider crisis. The downturn then spread through international trade and finance.
Black Tuesday is often confused with Black Thursday, October 24, when the first major wave of panic selling struck. Black Monday, October 28, and Black Tuesday were the most dramatic consecutive stages of the collapse. The Dow Jones Industrial Average did not regain its 1929 peak until 1954.