Wall Street Crash and onset of the Great Depression

Date

24–29 October 1929

Category

Economy & trade

Region

Global

Era

Modern

Significance

After a speculative boom, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed in late October 1929.

Panic selling on 'Black Thursday' (24 October) and especially 'Black Tuesday' (29 October), when over 16 million shares changed hands, wiped out billions in paper wealth; the Dow Jones index lost roughly a quarter of its value in days and would eventually fall about 89 percent from its peak by mid-1932. The crash did not by itself cause the Great Depression, but it accelerated a downturn that, amplified by banking failures, collapsing trade, and contractionary policy, spread worldwide. Thousands of US banks failed, and through the gold standard and the withdrawal of American loans the slump engulfed Europe and beyond, producing mass unemployment. In Germany the resulting economic misery fatally undermined the Weimar Republic and fed the rise of the Nazi Party, linking the financial crisis directly to the political catastrophes of the 1930s.

Empires active in 24–29 October 1929

• Empire of Japan
  1868 CE – 1947 CE
• Soviet Union
  1922 CE – 1991 CE
• French Colonial Empire (Second)
  1830 CE – 1962 CE
• British Empire
  1583 CE – 1997 CE
• Spanish Empire
  1492 CE – 1976 CE
• Portuguese Empire
  1415 CE – 1999 CE

Related economy & trade events

• Bretton Woods Conference creates the IMF and World Bank
  1–22 July 1944
• Soviet First Five-Year Plan and forced collectivisation
  1928–1933
• Weimar hyperinflation
  1922–1923 (peak November 1923)
• Cárdenas Nationalises Mexico's Oil
  1938
• The Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression
  1873–1896
• The Australian gold rushes begin
  1851

Further reading

The Great Crash 1929

If you read one book

The Great Crash 1929

John Kenneth Galbraith

The classic, witty account of the crash.

Get it on Amazon →

Also worth reading

• The Great Depression: A Diary — Benjamin RothAmazon →
• Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World — Liaquat AhamedAmazon →

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