The 1873 Vienna stock-exchange crash was known as Black Friday.
On May 9, 1873, panic selling struck the Vienna Stock Exchange after a period of intense speculation in shares and property. The collapse followed the rapid expansion of credit and investment during the years after the Austro-Prussian War. Many companies had been formed with optimistic projections, and confidence evaporated when investors began demanding cash.
The Vienna crash helped mark the beginning of the Long Depression, a prolonged period of weak prices, bankruptcies, and sluggish growth in several industrial economies. The shock spread through financial connections to Germany and the United States. This Black Friday is distinct from the U.S. gold-market panic of September 24, 1869, which also received that nickname, and from later “Black Friday” market episodes.