The 1929 Wall Street Crash’s most famous panic-selling day was Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929.
Black Tuesday followed Black Thursday, October 24, and Black Monday, October 28, as investors rushed to sell shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 12% on October 28 and about 12% again on October 29. Trading volume reached a then-record level, reflecting the enormous pressure to exit the market.
The crash did not single-handedly cause the Great Depression, but it became its most recognizable financial symbol. The United States economy was already weakening, and bank failures, falling production, reduced consumer demand, and international debt problems deepened the downturn.
Black Tuesday is sometimes confused with Black Thursday, the first dramatic break in the late-October sequence. The two names refer to different dates in the same historic market collapse.