Which date is called Black Tuesday, the day the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929?

Black Tuesday was 29 October 1929, the day of the most famous selling climax in the Wall Street Crash.

More than 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange that day, as investors rushed to sell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply, following major losses on Black Thursday, 24 October, and Black Monday, 28 October. These sessions formed the dramatic opening phase of a much longer bear market.

The crash followed years of rapid stock speculation, widespread use of borrowed money, and optimism about permanently rising share prices. Many ordinary investors bought stocks on margin, meaning they paid only part of the purchase price and borrowed the rest. Falling prices then forced additional selling when lenders demanded repayment.

The crash did not by itself cause every aspect of the Great Depression. Banking failures, falling demand, deflation, policy mistakes, and international debt problems also mattered. Black Tuesday is therefore best understood as the pivotal date of the 1929 market collapse, not as the sole cause of the decade-long economic crisis.