Which U.S. stock-market crash began on October 24, 1929, before Black Tuesday?

The U.S. stock-market crash that began on October 24, 1929, was the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

October 24 became known as Black Thursday after heavy selling hit the New York Stock Exchange. Although major banks and financiers attempted to support prices, the market suffered another major decline on October 28 and its most famous panic session on October 29, Black Tuesday.

The crash followed years of rapid share-price growth and widespread purchases made with borrowed money. When prices fell, margin calls forced investors to sell, adding pressure to the decline. Banking failures, falling production, unemployment, and international debt problems then helped deepen the Great Depression.

Black Thursday is a nickname for the opening shock, while the Wall Street Crash of 1929 names the broader episode. Black Tuesday is often treated as the crash’s symbolic climax, so the terms should not be treated as separate unrelated crashes.