Black Thursday was the name given to October 24, 1929, when heavy selling first caused a major Wall Street collapse.
The day began with a sharp fall in share prices and unusually heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange. A group of leading bankers later attempted to restore confidence by buying prominent stocks, and the market recovered much of its intraday loss before the close.
The attempted stabilization did not end the crisis. Selling intensified again on the following Monday and Tuesday, October 28 and 29. Black Tuesday became the most famous day of the crash because share prices fell dramatically and trading volume reached unprecedented levels.
Black Thursday is therefore not the same event as Black Tuesday, although both belong to the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The crash was followed by a prolonged economic downturn, but historians generally distinguish the stock-market collapse from the wider causes and effects of the Great Depression.