Art, obsession, and identity
October 29, 1929, is a date Wall Street investors and, indeed, America and the world at large would rather forget. In just one day, some 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost, and one of the country's worst financial crisis soon followed—the Great Depression of 1929–39.
In this gallery, we revisit the stock market crash of 1929. Click on to see the images of that day.
The frantic trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on October 29, 1929.
Thousands gather outside the Sub-Treasury building on the day the New York stock market crashes.
The decline in stock value lead to thousands of investors gathering on Wall Street.
Mounted police try to deter angry investors following the announcement of the New York stock market crash.
A bird's-eye view of the crowds on Wall Street following news of the stock market crash.
Crowds gather outside the New York Stock Exchange after the Wall Street Crash.
New York stock brokers and their clerks worked throughout the night until early October 30, 1929. Pictured are some of the clerks sleeping in a gym.
Investors rush to withdraw their savings from banks following the stock market crash of 1929.
A man holds a newspaper as brokerage house customers gather at the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange.
The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street as the crash takes place in 1929.
Stock brokers work frantically at the New York Stock Exchange.
A view of Wall Street and Trinity Church in New York City during the financial crisis of 1929.
A huge crowd gather outside the New York Stock Exchange on Black Tuesday, the day the devastating stock market crash came to be known as.
Pictured: the cover of Variety on October 30, 1929. The headline reads: "Wall St. Lays an Egg."
Depositors gather around the entrance of Merchants Bank in Passaic, New Jersey, following the crash news.
Wall Street clerks work during the market crash of 1929.
The front page of the continental edition of the London Daily Mail reporting the Wall Street crash.
Customers from New York brokerage houses gather on Wall Street in an effort to gain entrance into the NY Stock Exchange.
Thousands take to the streets as the market experiences the most frantic day of trading in US history.
Pictured: the front page of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. The headline reads: "Wall St. In Panic As Stocks Crash."
Police officers are seen amid the crowds outside the Stock Exchange building at Broad and Wall Streets.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the stock market crash. The headline reads: "Stock Values Crash in Record Stampede: Bankers Halt Rout."
The crash also affected investors across the pond. Pictured are members of a London club run by St Phalle Ltd., watching fluctuations in the New York stock market during the Wall Street crash.
Crowds gather at the New York Stock Exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is jammed with people.
An extra 400 police officers were dispatched by Commissioner Grover Whalen to guard the area after crowds gathered on Wall Street.
Traders pictured working at the beginning of the 1929 stock market crash.
A man reads The Wall Street Journal while seated on the steps of the Sub-Treasury building in Lower Manhattan.
The World newspaper headline reads: "Market in Panic as Stocks Are Dumped in 12,894,600 share Day; Bankers Halt It."
Sources: (History)
See also: The silent recession and what it means
In pictures: the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Billions of dollars were lost on October 29, 1929
LIFESTYLE Black tuesday
October 29, 1929, is a date Wall Street investors and, indeed, America and the world at large would rather forget. In just one day, some 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost, and one of the country's worst financial crisis soon followed—the Great Depression of 1929–39.
In this gallery, we revisit the stock market crash of 1929. Click on to see the images of that day.