What name was given to the 1989 collapse of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday the 13th?

The 1989 collapse of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday the 13th was called the Friday the 13th mini-crash. On October 13, 1989, the Dow fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9 percent, in a sudden market decline.

The fall was associated with fears surrounding the highly leveraged United Airlines buyout, which collapsed after a financing group withdrew. Investors also faced broader concerns about interest rates, corporate debt, and the sustainability of the late-1980s market rise.

The episode was smaller and shorter than the 1987 Black Monday crash, so the “mini-crash” label distinguishes it from the century’s most severe one-day market collapses. It is also separate from the October 1989 collapse of Japan’s asset bubble and from the 1987 global crash, despite occurring during another period of market anxiety.