The Panic of 1873 began in the United States with the failure of Jay Cooke & Company.
Jay Cooke & Company suspended payments on September 18, 1873, after it could not sell enough Northern Pacific Railway bonds. The failure damaged confidence in railways and financial institutions, helping trigger a major stock-market and banking crisis. The New York Stock Exchange closed temporarily on September 20.
The panic spread internationally and contributed to a long period of economic weakness often called the Long Depression. Overbuilding, excessive railway investment, falling commodity prices, and financial speculation were among the broader pressures. The event is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1893, another major U.S. crisis tied partly to railroad finance, but the earlier panic centered on Jay Cooke's collapse.