The financial panic that began with the Vienna stock-exchange collapse on 9 May 1873 is called the Panic of 1873.
The Vienna crash, known as the Gründerkrach, followed years of speculative investment and rapid railway expansion. When confidence broke, failures spread through financial institutions and markets. The shock crossed the Atlantic, contributing to the collapse of Jay Cooke & Company in the United States in September 1873.
The panic helped begin a prolonged period of economic weakness often called the Long Depression. The downturn affected Europe and North America, although its timing and intensity varied by country. Falling prices, business failures, and unemployment were major features.
The Panic of 1873 is sometimes confused with the Long Depression itself. The panic was the financial shock; the Long Depression refers to the broader years of economic stagnation and deflation that followed.