The global financial crisis that began with the Vienna Stock Exchange crash of May 1873 is called the Panic of 1873.
The Vienna crash followed a speculative boom in railways, construction, and real estate. When confidence broke, share prices collapsed and the failure of the Viennese banking firm Sattler helped spread panic through European markets. The shock crossed the Atlantic and contributed to the failure of Jay Cooke & Company in the United States in September 1873.
The resulting downturn affected Europe and North America and is closely associated with the Long Depression, a prolonged period of weak prices, falling profits, and high unemployment. Historians debate the exact boundaries of the Long Depression, but the Panic of 1873 is generally treated as its starting point.
A common mix-up is to treat the Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression as identical terms. The panic describes the financial crisis and market collapse; the depression describes the extended economic downturn that followed. The crisis also helped end the post-Civil War railway investment boom in the United States.