On what date did the 1929 U.S. stock-market crash reach its infamous “Black Tuesday” sell-off?

The 1929 U.S. stock-market crash reached its infamous “Black Tuesday” sell-off on October 29, 1929.

That day, roughly 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, overwhelming the exchange’s earlier trading-volume records. Prices fell sharply as investors rushed to sell, following major declines on October 24, known as Black Thursday, and October 28, known as Black Monday.

Black Tuesday did not cause the entire economic catastrophe by itself. It marked the most famous climax of a collapse that continued into the early 1930s. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had peaked in September 1929 before losing almost 89% of its value by July 1932.

A common mix-up is treating Black Tuesday as the start of the crash. The market had already begun falling before October 29, while the Great Depression involved additional banking failures, reduced production, unemployment, and international economic problems.