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NY Brokers Form NYS & EB
The New York brokers establish a formal organization, the New York Stock & Exchange Board (NYS&EB) and rent rooms at 40 Wall Street. They adopt a constitution with rules for the conduct of business. -
Erie Canal Opens
The opening of the Erie Canal makes New York City the seaboard gateway for the Great Lakes region. New York State bonds, issued to finance the canal, are traded actively on the Exchange. -
The Great Fire
The Great Fire destroys over 700 buildings in lower Manhattan. The NYS&EB moves to temporary headquarters. -
Panic of 1857
The Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company collapses. Prices drop eight to ten percent in the course of a single trading session, the culmination of a 45% decline in market value since the beginning of the year. -
Outbreak of the Civil War
At the outbreak of the Civil War, the NYS&EB suspends trading in securities of seceding states. -
NYSE Moves into Permanent Home
The Exchange moves to 10-12 Broad Street, just south of Wall Street. This move, together with subsequent purchases of adjacent land, establishes Wall and Broad as the center of securities trading in America. -
Property Rights
Membership in the NYSE becomes a "property right," enabling members to sell their seats -
NYSE Closes for 10 Days
Jay Cooke & Company, a prestigious Philadelphia banking firm, fails on September 19 due to over speculation in railroad stocks. The NYSE closes for ten days as a severe financial panic grips the nation -
Panic of 1907
Rumors of financial problems at Knickerbocker Trust, a leading NY bank, triggers a run on banks throughout the city. This begins the Panic of 1907, regarded as America's most severe financial crisis to date. J.P. Morgan, Sr., who orchestrates a massive operation to infuse cash into banks and shore up the stock market, stems the panic almost single-handedly. -
WW1 Causes Longest Exchange Shutdown
As armed conflict engulfs Europe, securities exchanges around the world suspend operations to arrest plunging prices. The NYSE closes its doors on July 31, and does not fully reopen for 4 1/2 months, the longest shutdown in Exchange history -
Wall Street Becomes World Financial Leader
World War I is a turning point. America emerges from the war as a creditor rather than a debtor nation, and Wall Street supplants London as the world investment capital. Over the next decade, more than 1,700 foreign issues will be offered publicly in the U.S. -
New Office Space
The Exchange completes a 23-story office tower with additional trading space. The New Trading Room is referred to as “the Garage”, because it is next to the original structure -
Black Thursday
Stock prices fall sharply on October 24, Black Thursday, with record volume of nearly 13 million shares. Five days later, the market crashes on volume of over 16 million shares -- a level not to be surpassed for 39 years. In popular imagery, the crash has come to mark the beginning of the Great Depression -
NYSE Closes For Bank Holiday
March 04
The NYSE shut down its operations for FDR's 1933 bank holiday. -
First President
William McChesney Martin, Jr., becomes the first full-time salaried president of the exchange. -
Public Gallery Opens
The NYSE opens its trading floor gallery to the public. The gallery is known today as the Interactive Education Center. -
Centralization of Authority
Continuing the reorganization begun in 1938, the NYSE constitution is revised to centralize administrative authority in the office of the president and his staff -
Exchange Closes for V-J Day
Victorious American troops are welcomed home with a ticker tape parade. The Exchange closes August 15-16 for V-J Day -
"Own Your Share of American Business"
The NYSE launches the "Own Your Share of American Business" educational and marketing program, aimed at expanding public participation in the stock market. -
Eisenhower Heart Attack
President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers a heart attack on September 24, creating a large wave of selling at the NYSE. Both the president and the market recover quickly.