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Stockade Erected in Manhattan
A 12-foot-high wood stockade is erected across lower Manhattan from river to river to protect Dutch settlers from attacks by the British and Indians. -
Wall Street Laid Out
Surveyors lay out Wall Street along the line of the stockade. -
US Investment Markets Born
The federal government refinances all federal and state Revolutionary War debt, issuing $80 million in bonds. These become the first major issues of publicly traded securities, marking the birth of the U.S. investment markets. -
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. -
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 and the subsequent depression had several underlying causes, of which economic historians debate the relative importance. Post-war inflation, and rampant speculation had plummeted bank reserves from 50 million to 17 million. -
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. -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
Black Tuesday was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout. The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. -
Women on the Trading Floor
Women work on the Stock Exchange trading floor for the first time ending the tradition of men only. -
First President
William McChesney Martin, Jr., becomes the first full-time salaried president of the exchange. -
Paperwork Crisis
As trading volume surges, member firms struggle to process transactions on time. Member firm back offices work around the clock to keep up. The "paperwork crisis" continues for months, spurring increased automation. -
Gold Speculation Tanks Market
This later results in Black Friday. -
Board of Directors
In an important organizational change to strengthen the role of the public, investors and listed companies in NYSE governance, the 33-member Board of Governors is replaced by a 21-member Board of Directors with 10 public members. Concurrently, James J. Needham becomes the first full-time salaried chairman of the Exchange. -
Ronald Reagan Visits NYSE
The United States' 40th President, Ronald Reagan, becomes the first U.S. President to visit the NYSE while in office. -
Largest one-day drop
On October 19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experiences its largest one-day percentage drop in history, 508 points or 22.61 percent. This drop causes volume to surge to an unprecedented 604 million shares. The next day, volume reaches 608 million shares. -
Bush visits the NYSE
President Bush becomes the second sitting President to visit the Exchange during the trading day. -
Dow rises
The DJIA experiences its largest one-day point gain - 499.19 points - to close at 10,630.60. -
Visa Inc. is now with the NYSE
Visa Inc., the world’s largest retail electronic payment network, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “V” after its historic initial public offering in which it raised $17.86 billion. Visa’s IPO is the largest domestic initial public offering in U.S. history and the third largest initial public offering worldwide. -
Dow nosedives
On October 27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554 points, triggering the NYSE's "circuit breaker" rule for the first time. Trading halts at 3:30 p.m
