The Wall Street crash of 1929 was a sudden collapse of stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange that ended the speculative boom of the 1920s. Heavy selling began on a day remembered as Black Thursday, and the worst losses came on the following Tuesday. Many investors had bought shares on margin, borrowing against stocks that were already highly priced, so falling prices forced further panic sales. The crash did not cause the Great Depression on its own, but it destroyed confidence, weakened banks and became the symbol of the economic downturn that followed. It later led to reforms such as the Glass-Steagall Act and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Before and after
- 4 August 1929Birth of Yasser Arafat
- 28 September 1929Construction of St. Vitus Cathedral
- from 3 October 1929 to 29 November 1945Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- 21 October 1929Birth of Ursula K. Le Guin
- from 24 October 1929 to 29 October 1929Wall Street crash of 1929
- from 29 October 1929 to 1 January 1941Great Depression
- 7 November 1929Construction of Museum of Modern Art
- 9 November 1929Birth of Imre Kertész
- 12 November 1929Birth of Grace Kelly
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916Gallipoli Campaign
- 4 June 1917Pulitzer Prize
- 1919Paris Peace Conference
- 3 March 1923Time
- 30 September 1938Munich agreement
- from 1 September 1939 to 6 October 19391939 Invasion of Poland
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.