The U.S. financial crisis that began after Jay Cooke & Company failed in 1873 was the Panic of 1873.
Jay Cooke & Company, a major American investment bank, suspended payments on September 18, 1873. It had heavily promoted bonds for the Northern Pacific Railway, and difficulties in financing the railroad undermined confidence in the bank and related investments.
The panic caused the New York Stock Exchange to close temporarily for the first time in its history, from September 20 to September 29, 1873. Bank failures, falling investment, and reduced railroad construction contributed to a prolonged economic downturn in the United States.
The crisis was international and connected with financial instability in Europe, especially after the Vienna stock-market crash earlier in 1873. It is separate from the railway-centered crisis commonly called the Long Depression, though the two are closely linked in historical accounts.