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1653
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.
1685
Wall Street Laid Out -
Surveyors lay out Wall Street along the line of the stockade.
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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.
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Twenty-four prominent brokers and merchants gather on Wall Street to sign the Buttonwood Agreement, agreeing to trade securities on a commission basis. The New York Stock Exchange traces its beginnings to this historic pact.
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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.
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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.
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The Great Fire destroys over 700 buildings in lower Manhattan. The NYS&EB moves to temporary headquarters.
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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.
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Outbreak of the Civil War
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At the outbreak of the Civil War, the NYS&EB suspends trading in securities of seceding states.
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The New York Stock & Exchange Board becomes the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
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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.
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Membership in the NYSE becomes a "property right," enabling members to sell their seats.
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On September 24, gold speculation resulted in "Black Friday."
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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.
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On April 22, the NYSE moves into its new quarters at 18 Broad Street. The new trading floor, still in use today, is 60 percent larger than the previous floor.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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The NYSE shut down its operations for FDR's 1933 bank holiday.
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William McChesney Martin, Jr., becomes the first full-time salaried president of the exchange.
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The NYSE opens its trading floor gallery to the public. The gallery is known today as the Interactive Education Center.
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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.