The 24 October 1929 U.S. stock-market panic was called Black Thursday. It marked the first major crash day of the Wall Street Crash, as unusually heavy selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange and intensified public fear.
Trading volume reached a then-record level, and prices fell sharply during the session. A group of leading bankers later pooled money to buy selected shares, helping the market recover part of its loss before the close. That intervention temporarily calmed investors but did not end the underlying weakness.
Black Thursday was followed by Black Monday on 28 October and Black Tuesday on 29 October. The later sessions produced even more dramatic declines and established the crash’s best-known chronology. The market had already become highly speculative, with many investors buying shares on margin, meaning they used borrowed money.
The crash contributed to the Great Depression but was not its only cause. Bank failures, reduced consumer spending, international debt problems, and economic policy decisions all mattered. Black Thursday should also not be confused with Thanksgiving Day, which is sometimes informally associated with the same calendar date but is unrelated to the historical name.