What name was given to the US gold-market panic of September 24, 1869?

The US gold-market panic of September 24, 1869, was called Black Friday.

The episode developed when financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the US gold market. They accumulated gold while seeking favorable conditions from President Ulysses S. Grant’s administration, hoping that a higher gold price would benefit their holdings and associated business interests. Grant eventually authorized the Treasury to sell gold, increasing supply and breaking the attempted corner.

Gold prices plunged on September 24, 1869, causing severe losses and financial disruption. The panic damaged confidence and affected merchants and farmers, although the wider economy did not experience a collapse on the scale of 1929. The term Black Friday later became strongly associated with post-Thanksgiving shopping in the United States, but its earlier financial use referred to the 1869 gold panic. It is also distinct from Black Friday labels used for other market crises.