Black Tuesday, the 1929 crash’s most famous selling day, occurred on October 29, 1929.
More than 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange as prices collapsed. The day followed Black Monday, October 28, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average had already fallen sharply. Earlier panic selling had begun on Black Thursday, October 24.
The crash ended the speculative boom of the 1920s, but it did not by itself cause every feature of the Great Depression. Banking failures, declining demand, debt problems, policy choices, and international economic weakness deepened the downturn over the following years.
Another common mistake is treating October 29 as the entire crash. The market’s collapse unfolded across several dramatic sessions, and the Dow continued falling after Black Tuesday before reaching a low in 1932.