The 1962 U.S. stock-market collapse was called the Kennedy Slide of 1962.
The Kennedy Slide ran from December 1961 to June 1962, with the sharpest one-day fall occurring on May 28, 1962. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined heavily, while technology and growth stocks were particularly vulnerable after a period of optimistic valuations.
The market was affected by Cold War tensions, concerns about economic growth, and uncertainty over corporate profits. The episode took place during John F. Kennedy’s presidency, which explains its name, but the nickname does not mean the president caused the crash.
The event is also known as the Flash Crash of 1962, a label that can be confused with the electronic Flash Crash of 2010. The 1962 decline occurred in a very different market structure, before modern computerized trading dominated U.S. exchanges.