1Buttonwood Agreement
The earliest recorded organization of securities trading in New York among brokers directly dealing with each other can be traced to the Buttonwood Agreement. Previously, securities exchange had been intermediated by the auctioneers, who also conducted more mundane auctions of commodities such as wheat and tobacco.
On May 17, 1792, twenty-four brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which set a floor commission rate charged to clients and bound the signers to give preference to the other signers in securities sales.
2New reforms
In 1817, the stockbrokers of New York, operating under the Buttonwood Agreement, instituted new reforms and reorganized.
After sending a delegation to Philadelphia to observe the organization of their board of brokers, restrictions on manipulative trading were adopted, as well as formal organs of governance.
After re-forming as the New York Stock and Exchange Board, the broker organization began renting out space exclusively for securities trading, which previously had been taking place at the Tontine Coffee House.
Several locations were used between 1817 and 1865 when the present location was adopted.
3Open Board of Stock Brokers
The Open Board of Stock Brokers was established in 1864 as a competitor to the NYSE. With 354 members, the Open Board of Stock Brokers rivaled the NYSE in membership (which had 533) "because it used a more modern, continuous trading system superior to the NYSE’s twice-daily call sessions".
4New York Gold Exchange was acquired by the NYSE
In 1865, the New York Gold Exchange was acquired by the NYSE.
5Stock tickers were first introduced
In 1867, stock tickers were first introduced.
6Open Board of Stock Brokers merged with the NYSE
The Open Board of Stock Brokers merged with the NYSE in 1869.
7Membership had to be capped
The Civil War greatly stimulated speculative securities trading in New York. By 1869, membership had to be capped and has been sporadically increased since. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw rapid growth in securities trading.
8400 NYSE members in the Consolidated Stock Exchange withdraw from Consolidated over disagreements on exchange trade areas
In 1885, the 400 NYSE members in the Consolidated Stock Exchange withdraw from Consolidated over disagreements on exchange trade areas.
9Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is first published in The Wall Street Journal
In 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is first published in The Wall Street Journal.
10Stock Exchange Luncheon Club
The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club was situated on the seventh floor from 1898 until its closure in 2006.
11New York Stock Exchange Building
The main New York Stock Exchange Building, built in 1903, is at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place, and was designed in the Beaux Arts style by George B. Post.
12Trading in bonds begins
In 1909, trading in bonds begins.
13Exchange was closed in WWI
The exchange was closed shortly after the beginning of World War I (July 31, 1914), but it partially re-opened on November 28 of that year in order to help the war effort by trading bonds and completely reopened for stock trading in mid-December.
14Basis of quoting and trading in stocks changes from percent of par value to dollars
In 1915, basis of quoting and trading in stocks changes from percent of par value to dollars.
15Wall Street bombing
On September 16, 1920, the Wall Street bombing occurred outside the building, killing thirty-eight people and injuring hundreds more.
16Poor's Publishing introduced their "Composite Index"
In 1923, Poor's Publishing introduced their "Composite Index", today referred to as the S&P 500, which tracked a small number of companies on the NYSE.
17Black Thursday crash
The Black Thursday crash of the Exchange on October 24, 1929, and the sell-off panic which started on Black Tuesday, October 29, are often blamed for precipitating the Great Depression.
In an effort to restore investor confidence, the Exchange unveiled a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public on October 31, 1938.
18Exchange was registered as a national securities exchange
On October 1, 1934, the exchange was registered as a national securities exchange with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with a president and a thirty-three member board.
19Trading floor is opened to women while men were serving in WWII
In 1943, the trading floor is opened to women while men were serving in WWII.
20Third-longest (eight-year) bull market begins
In 1949, the third-longest (eight-year) bull market begins.
21Becoming known as the S&P 500
In 1957, after Poor's Publishing merged with the Standard Statistics Bureau, the Standard & Poors composite index grew to track 500 companies on the NYSE, becoming known as the S&P 500.
22Common Stock Index
In 1966, NYSE begins a composite index of all listed common stocks. This is referred to as the "Common Stock Index" and is transmitted daily. The starting point of the index is 50. It is later renamed the NYSE Composite Index.
23One of Abbie Hoffman's well-known publicity stunts
One of Abbie Hoffman's well-known publicity stunts took place in 1967 when he led members of the Yippie movement to the Exchange's gallery. The provocateurs hurled fistfuls of dollars toward the trading floor below. Some traders booed, and some laughed and waved. Three months later the stock exchange enclosed the gallery with bulletproof glass.
Hoffman wrote a decade later, "We didn't call the press; at that time we really had no notion of anything called a media event."
24Securities Investor Protection Corporation was established
In 1970, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation was established.
25NASDAQ was founded and competes with the NYSE as the world's first electronic stock market
In 1971, the NASDAQ was founded and competes with the NYSE as the world's first electronic stock market.
To date, the NASDAQ is the second-largest exchange in the world by market capitalization, behind only the NYSE.
26Non-profit corporation was formed
On February 18, 1971, the non-profit corporation was formed, and the number of board members was reduced to twenty-five.
27Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 for the first time
In 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 for the first time on November 14.
28Foreign brokers are admitted to NYSE
In 1977, foreign brokers are admitted to NYSE.
29New York Futures Exchange was established
In 1980, the New York Futures Exchange was established.
30Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 508 points
On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 508 points, a 22.6% loss in a single day, the second-biggest one-day drop the exchange had experienced.
Black Monday was followed by Terrible Tuesday, a day in which the Exchange's systems did not perform well and some people had difficulty completing their trades.
31"SELL WELCOME"
In 1989, On September 14, seven members of ACT-UP, The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, entered the NYSE and protested by chaining themselves to the balcony overlooking the trading floor and unfurling a banner, "SELL WELCOME," in reference to drug manufacturer Burroughs Wellcome. Following the protest, Burroughs Wellcome reduced the price of AZT (a drug used by people living with HIV and AIDS) by over 30%.
32Mini-Crash of 1989
Subsequently, there was another major drop for the Dow on October 13, 1989—the Mini-Crash of 1989. The crash was apparently caused by a reaction to a news story of a $6.75 billion leveraged buyout deal for UAL Corporation, the parent company of United Airlines, which broke down. When the UAL deal fell through, it helped trigger the collapse of the junk bond market causing the Dow to fall 190.58 points or 6.91 percent.
33Longest (ten-year) bull market begins
In 1990, the longest (ten-year) bull market begins.
34Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeds 5,000
In 1995, the Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeds 5,000.
35Real-time ticker was introduced
In 1996, real-time ticker was introduced.
361997 Mini-Crash
Similarly, there was a panic in the financial world during the year 1997; the Asian Financial Crisis. Like the fall of many foreign markets, the Dow suffered a 7.18% drop in value (554.26 points) on October 27, 1997, in what later became known as the 1997 Mini-Crash but from which the DJIA recovered quickly. This was the first time that the "circuit breaker" rule had operated.
37Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeds 10,000
In 1999, the Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeds 10,000 on March 29.
38"Sleep Now in the Fire"
On January 26, 2000, an altercation during the filming of the music video for Rage Against the Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire", directed by Michael Moore, caused the doors of the exchange to be closed and the band to be escorted from the site by security after the members attempted to gain entry into the exchange.
39Resuming on Monday
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the NYSE was closed for four trading sessions, resuming on Monday, September 17, one of the rare times the NYSE was closed for more than one session and only the third time since March 1933.
40NYSE Composite Index was relaunched
In 2003, NYSE Composite Index was relaunched and value set equal to 5,000 points.
41NYSE announced its plans to merge with Archipelago in a deal intended to reorganize the NYSE as a publicly-traded company
On April 21, 2005, the NYSE announced its plans to merge with Archipelago in a deal intended to reorganize the NYSE as a publicly-traded company.
42NYSE's governing board voted to merge with rival Archipelago
NYSE's governing board voted to merge with rival Archipelago on December 6, 2005, and became a for-profit, public company.
43NYSE Arca
In 2006, NYSE and ArcaEx merge, creating NYSE Arca and forming the publicly owned, for-profit NYSE Group, Inc.; in turn, NYSE Group merges with Euronext, creating the first trans-Atlantic stock exchange group; DJIA tops 12,000 on October 19.
44US President George W. Bush shows up unannounced to the Floor about an hour and a half before a Federal Open Market Committee interest-rate decision
In 2007, US President George W. Bush shows up unannounced to the Floor about an hour and a half before a Federal Open Market Committee interest-rate decision on January 31; NYSE announces its merger with the American Stock Exchange; NYSE Composite closes above 10,000 on June 1.
45NYSE Group completed its merger with Euronext
On April 4, 2007, the NYSE Group completed its merger with Euronext, the European combined stock market, thus forming NYSE Euronext, the first transatlantic stock exchange.
46DJIA loses more than 500 points
In 2008, the DJIA loses more than 500 points on September 15 amid fears of bank failures, resulting in a permanent prohibition of naked short selling and a three-week temporary ban on all short-selling of financial stocks; in spite of this, record volatility continues for the next two months, culminating at 5+1⁄2-year market lows.
47NYSE Euronext completed the acquisition of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
In October 2008, NYSE Euronext completed the acquisition of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) for $260 million in stock.
48Second-longest bull market begins
In 2009, the second-longest and current bull market begins on March 9 after the DJIA closes at 6,547.05 reaching a 12-year low; DJIA returns to 10,015.86 on October 14.
492010 Flash Crash
On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its largest intraday percentage drop since the crash on October 19, 1987, with a 998-point loss later being called the 2010 Flash Crash (as the drop occurred in minutes before rebounding).
50NYSE and Deutsche Börse announced their merger to form a new company
On February 15, 2011, NYSE and Deutsche Börse announced their merger to form a new company, as yet unnamed, wherein Deutsche Börse shareholders would have 60% ownership of the new entity, and NYSE Euronext shareholders would have 40%.
51Intercontinental Exchange and NASDAQ OMX Group had together made an unsolicited proposal to buy NYSE Euronext
In April 2011, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an American futures exchange, and NASDAQ OMX Group had together made an unsolicited proposal to buy NYSE Euronext for approximately US$11,000,000,000, a deal in which NASDAQ would have taken control of the stock exchanges.
NYSE Euronext rejected this offer twice, but it was finally terminated after the United States Department of Justice indicated their intention to block the deal due to antitrust concerns.
52NYSE imposed rules restricting brokers from voting uninstructed shares
The NYSE has also imposed additional rules in response to shareholder protection controls, e.g. in 2012, the NYSE imposed rules restricting brokers from voting uninstructed shares.
53Near-monopoly in European financial derivatives worldwide
On February 1, 2012, the European Commission blocked the merger of NYSE with Deutsche Börse, after commissioner Joaquín Almunia stated that the merger "would have led to a near-monopoly in European financial derivatives worldwide".
Instead, Deutsche Börse and NYSE would have to sell either their Eurex derivatives or LIFFE shares in order to not create a monopoly. On February 2, 2012, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse agreed to scrap the merger.
54Hurricane Sandy shut down
On October 29, 2012, the stock exchange was shut down for two days due to Hurricane Sandy.
55Market rules violation
On May 1, 2014, the stock exchange was fined $4.5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that it had violated market rules.
56$200,000 a share
On August 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway's A Class shares, the highest-priced shares on the NYSE, hit $200,000 a share for the first time.
57DJIA closes above 18,000
In 2014, the DJIA closes above 17,000 on July 3 and above 18,000 on December 23.
58DJIA achieved an all-time high of 18,351.36
In 2015, the DJIA achieved an all-time high of 18,351.36 on May 19.
59Technical issues
On July 8, 2015, technical issues affected the stock exchange, halting trading at 11:32 am ET. The NYSE reassured stock traders that the outage was "not a result of a cyber breach", and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that there was "no sign of malicious activity". Trading eventually resumed at 3:10 pm ET the same day.
60DJIA hits an all-time high of 18,873.6
In 2016, the DJIA hits an all-time high of 18,873.6.
61DJIA reaches 20,000 for the first time
In 2017, the DJIA reaches 20,000 for the first time (on January 25).
62DJIA reaches 25,000 for the first time
In 2018, the DJIA reaches 25,000 for the first time (on January 4).
63Largest point drop in history (1,175 points drop)
On February 5, the DJIA dropped 1,175 points, making it the largest point drop in history.
64Stacey Cunningham became the first female leader in the exchange's 226-year history
On May 25, 2018, Stacey Cunningham, the NYSE's chief operating officer, became the Big Board's 67th president, succeeding Thomas Farley. She is the first female leader in the exchange's 226-year history.
65NYSE announced plans to temporarily move to all-electronic trading
In March 2020, the NYSE announced plans to temporarily move to all-electronic trading on March 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.