The 1873 financial panic that helped trigger a long depression was the Panic of 1873.
The crisis began amid speculative investment in railways, property, and construction. In the United States, the failure of the banking house Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 undermined confidence and helped force the New York Stock Exchange to close temporarily.
The panic spread through connected financial systems. Germany and Austria-Hungary were also hit, and the collapse of railroad and industrial investment contributed to prolonged weakness. Historians debate whether the resulting period should be called the Long Depression, because prices often fell even while some output continued to grow.
The event exposed the danger of railway speculation and fragile banking relationships. It also encouraged changes in financial regulation and business organization. It is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1893, another severe United States financial crisis two decades later, but the 1873 event is the one associated with the opening of the Long Depression.