The 1873 financial crisis that began in Europe and helped trigger a long global depression is called the Panic of 1873.
The crisis followed speculative investment in railways and property, especially in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The failure of the Vienna stock-market firm Gründerkrach in May 1873 helped undermine confidence, and the collapse of Jay Cooke & Company in the United States in September brought the panic to Wall Street.
The downturn spread through banks, railways, and industrial companies. Falling prices and weak investment persisted for years across parts of Europe and North America. Historians often call the prolonged period after the panic the Long Depression, although the name and precise dates are debated.
The Panic of 1873 is sometimes confused with the Long Depression itself. The panic refers to the acute financial crisis, while the depression describes the extended economic downturn that followed. It also helped end the rapid railway speculation of the early 1870s.