In the 1873 financial crisis, which European stock exchange crash helped trigger the Panic of 1873?

The Vienna Stock Exchange crash helped trigger the Panic of 1873.

A speculative boom in Austria-Hungary ended abruptly in May 1873, when the Vienna Stock Exchange suffered a major collapse. The event is often called the Gründerkrach, or “founders’ crash,” because it followed a period of rapid company formation and speculative investment.

Financial stress spread through Europe and reached the United States later in the year. In September 1873, the failure of the banking firm Jay Cooke & Company helped trigger a panic in American markets. The crisis contributed to a prolonged international downturn sometimes called the Long Depression.

The panic reflected excessive railroad investment, inflated property and share prices, tight credit, and banking problems. Although historians debate the exact boundaries and severity of the Long Depression, the 1873 crash is widely treated as its starting point.