The Wall Street Crash of 1929 began in 1929 with Black Thursday on October 24.
After years of rising share prices and heavy margin lending, panic selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange. The market suffered another dramatic session on Black Tuesday, October 29, when about 16 million shares changed hands. The crash did not cause the entire Great Depression by itself, but it severely damaged confidence, reduced wealth, and contributed to falling investment and consumption.
A common mix-up is treating Black Tuesday as the start of the crash. The sell-off had already begun several days earlier, and major declines continued after October 1929. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually fell roughly 89% from its 1929 peak to its 1932 low, showing why the episode became a defining symbol of financial collapse.