During the 1929 Wall Street Crash, October 24 was called Black Thursday. That day, panic selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply amid exceptionally heavy trading.
A group of prominent bankers, including Richard Whitney, attempted to restore confidence by buying leading shares at prices above the market. Their intervention briefly steadied prices, but it did not end the underlying crisis. Selling returned with even greater force in the following week.
Black Thursday is often confused with Black Tuesday, October 29, the crash's most famous final collapse. Black Monday, October 28, was another major selling day immediately before it. The crash unfolded over several trading sessions rather than on one isolated date.
The 1929 collapse followed years of rising share prices, widespread speculation, and purchases made with borrowed money. The downturn contributed to the wider economic contraction that became the Great Depression, although historians identify multiple causes behind that depression.