The Panic of 1873 began in 1873 after a crash on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
On May 9, 1873, panic selling hit Vienna’s exchange, helping expose weaknesses created by speculative investment and rapid railway expansion. The shock spread through financial markets, including Germany and the United States. The crisis was part of a wider international downturn rather than an isolated exchange event.
In the United States, the failure of the banking firm Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 triggered a major panic. The New York Stock Exchange temporarily closed, credit contracted, businesses failed, and unemployment rose. The depression that followed lasted for years, although its severity and duration differed across countries.
The Panic of 1873 is sometimes called the Long Depression, especially in accounts emphasizing its extended duration. It should not be confused with the Great Depression, which began after the 1929 crash. The Vienna crash was an early visible stage of the 1873 crisis.