The 1873 crash that began in Vienna and spread through Europe and the United States is called the Panic of 1873. The Vienna Stock Exchange fell sharply in May after speculative railway and property investments lost support.
The panic reached the United States later that year when the major banking house Jay Cooke & Company failed on September 18. Its collapse was linked to difficulty financing Northern Pacific Railway bonds and triggered bank runs and a suspension of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
A long period of deflation and weak growth followed, often called the Long Depression. Historians debate its exact duration and causes, but railway overbuilding, tight credit and financial failures were important factors. The event is distinct from the U.S. Panic of 1893, another railway-related crisis.