Black Tuesday was the 1929 trading session when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 12% during the Wall Street Crash.
The date was October 29, 1929. About 16 million shares changed hands, overwhelming the exchange's machinery and intensifying panic selling. The Dow dropped roughly 30 points, a loss of about 12%, after substantial declines on the preceding Thursday and Monday.
Black Tuesday did not by itself create the entire economic crisis that followed. The crash unfolded across several sessions and was followed by years of falling share prices, bank failures, reduced investment, and severe unemployment. The Great Depression had multiple causes, including weakened demand, financial instability, debt, and international economic problems.
A common mix-up is treating Black Tuesday as the first day of the crash. Black Thursday, October 24, brought an earlier wave of heavy selling, while Black Monday and Black Tuesday were the following week's most notorious sessions. The United States did not return to its pre-crash market peak until 1954.