Stock Market Timeline

The stock market timeline is more extended that most people realize. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany dates back as far as the 9th century.

Back in the 13th century, merchants and financiers traded government securities and other investments. Most major European cities followed this trend, selling debt-based securities to investors to assist their own economic growth.

However it wasn’t until 1602 with the Dutch East India Company released the first stocks in a privately owned company and listed them on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange that the stock market as we know it today was formed.

Many other company owners realized that selling shares in a company was a great way to expand and grow and the stock market came alive.

It wasn’t until 1792 that a group of New York stockbrokers formally created the New York Stock Exchange board in order to formalize the rules for trading stocks. They agreed to meet daily to trade stocks and bonds.

The New York Stock Exchange expanded dramatically to include investors outside of New York in 1844 when telegraph messages, send via Morse code, were successfully transmitted, enabling investors to send and receive stock market quotes. This eventually was replaced by the stock ticker in 1867.

During 1866 the first transatlantic communications cable was completed between New York and London. This allowed the stock markets from both countries to communicate instantly, however it wasn’t until 1878 that telephones were installed on the trading floor of the New York stock exchange.

The Wall Street Journal announced in 1896 the creation of the Dow Jones industrial stock average and by 1934 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was formed in order to regulate the stocks and bonds markets. The SEC helped to oversee the requirements for companies wanting to issue stock to the public. It also oversees the daily actions of market exchanges, ensuring compliance.

The NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) began trading in 1971, which officially became the world’s first electronic stock market. It wasn’t until 1994 that the first stock trade was placed via the Internet.


Timeline of Infamous Stock Market Crashes

With such a long and diverse history, the stock market has weathered through many periods of economic downturn and investor panic and has seen some spectacular recoveries too. When you consider that stock market declines are not as unusual or rare as many investors seem to think, it helps to restore a little faith in the ability of stock markets to recover even after the worst possible crashes.


Back in 1637, the Dutch stock market collapsed with prices falling almost 90%.

In 1720 the London stock market crashed, leading the government to take control of all National Debt.

In 1869, two American investors attempted to corner the gold market, beginning a gold-price crash and set in motion the events of the first Black Friday on Wall Street.

By 1873 America’s most reputable stock brokerage company collapsed and began a panicked stock sell off. This led to 37 banks and two major brokerage houses collapsing.

In 1884, yet another large stock brokering company collapses, which instigated another panic. This panicked sell off led to the failure of 15 other major brokering companies.

By 1893 the stock market crashed again, throwing America into a deep economic Depression.

1903 saw the ‘Rich Man’s Panic’ crash, and the financial world spiraled into yet another panic as news of the troubles hounding a major New York bank were released and 1907 saw yet another period of sharp downturn in the markets.

The notorious 1929 Black Thursday, followed only four days later by Black Monday saw the largest one-day fall in prices in the US stock market’s history at that time. One day later, Black Tuesday saw prices fall even further. Stock market prices around the world declined in response, but the bottom of the market wasn’t reached until 1932.

The Black Monday one-day percentage fall in stock market pricing was overshadowed by the stock market crash in 1987, when the Dow Jones lost 22.61% during one day.

In 2008, the Dow Jones once again saw the largest one-day pricing decline in history, falling 777 points.