Which 1929 U.S. market collapse is known as the Wall Street Crash of 1929?

The 1929 U.S. market collapse is known as the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

The crash began in October 1929 after a period of heavy speculation and widespread purchases of shares with borrowed money. Major selling days included Black Thursday on October 24 and Black Tuesday on October 29, when panic selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply, although the broader economic depression developed over several subsequent years.

The crash is often linked with the Great Depression, but the terms are not interchangeable. The Wall Street Crash refers specifically to the collapse in share prices, while the Great Depression describes the much wider global economic crisis that followed. Bank failures, falling production, unemployment and reduced international trade deepened that depression.

The market did not reach its ultimate low immediately: the Dow continued falling until July 1932. The crash also occurred in a period when regulation and investor protections were less developed than they are today.