<Tr> <Td> Panic of 1896 </Td> <Td> Dec 1895--June 1897 </Td> <Td> 1 year 6 months </Td> <Td> 1 year 6 months </Td> <Td> − 25.2% </Td> <Td> − 20.8% </Td> <Td> The period of 1893--97 is seen as a generally depressed cycle that had a short spurt of growth in the middle, following the Panic of 1893 . Production shrank and deflation reigned . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1899--1900 recession </Td> <Td> June 1899--Dec 1900 </Td> <Td> 1 year 6 months </Td> <Td> 2 years </Td> <Td> − 15.5% </Td> <Td> − 8.8% </Td> <Td> This was a mild recession in the period of general growth beginning after 1897 . Evidence for a recession in this period does not show up in some annual data series . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1902--04 recession </Td> <Td> Sep 1902--Aug 1904 </Td> <Td> 1 year 11 months </Td> <Td> 1 year 9 months </Td> <Td> − 16.2% </Td> <Td> − 17.1% </Td> <Td> Though not severe, this downturn lasted for nearly two years and saw a distinct decline in the national product . Industrial and commercial production both declined, albeit fairly modestly . The recession came about a year after a 1901 stock crash . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Panic of 1907 </Td> <Td> May 1907--June 1908 </Td> <Td> 1 year 1 month </Td> <Td> 2 years 9 months </Td> <Td> − 29.2% </Td> <Td> − 31.0% </Td> <Td> A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company deposits on October 22, 1907, set events in motion that would lead to a severe monetary contraction . The fallout from the panic led to Congress creating the Federal Reserve System . </Td> </Tr>

How does the nber date the beginning of a recession