October 24, 1929, marked the beginning of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, when heavy selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange.
The date is commonly called Black Thursday. Trading volume surged as investors rushed to sell shares, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped sharply. A group of prominent bankers then bought major stocks in an effort to restore confidence, temporarily stabilizing prices. That intervention did not end the crisis.
Selling intensified again on October 28 and October 29. October 29 became known as Black Tuesday and is often remembered as the crash’s most famous day, but the collapse had already begun five days earlier. The market’s eventual decline reflected excessive speculation, widespread purchases on margin, weakening economic conditions, and falling industrial activity.
The crash was a major turning point, although historians do not treat it as the sole cause of the Great Depression. Bank failures, deflation, reduced spending, and policy decisions helped turn a market disaster into a much broader economic catastrophe.