The 1929 Wall Street Crash gained the name Black Tuesday from the massive selling on Tuesday, October 29, 1929.
On that day, about 16 million shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, a record at the time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply, following major losses on Black Thursday, October 24, and Black Monday, October 28.
The crash followed a long bull market in the 1920s, when share prices rose rapidly and many buyers used borrowed money. As confidence weakened, investors rushed to sell. Falling prices damaged brokers, banks, companies, and households, although the crash itself was not the sole cause of the Great Depression.
Black Tuesday is sometimes used as a label for the entire 1929 crash, but it specifically refers to October 29. The wider market decline continued after that date, and the Dow did not reach its pre-crash peak again until 1954.