Black Tuesday, the day the 1929 Wall Street Crash intensified dramatically, was October 29, 1929.
On that day, about 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, a record at the time. Prices plunged as investors rushed to sell, destroying billions of dollars in paper wealth. Black Tuesday followed Black Thursday on October 24 and Black Monday on October 28, a sequence that showed how quickly confidence had deteriorated.
The crash ended a long period of speculative buying during the 1920s. Many investors had purchased shares on margin, borrowing money to buy stocks. When prices fell, brokers demanded additional cash, forcing more sales and creating a damaging cycle.
The crash was a major trigger of the Great Depression, although it was not its sole cause. Bank failures, reduced spending, falling industrial production, and restrictive economic policies deepened the crisis during the years that followed.