Dow Jones Industrial Average's Historical Milestones: Timeline

By David Wilson and Eric Martin

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The following table lists historical milestones for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

1884: Charles Dow and Edward Jones introduce a stock-market average in the ``Customer's Afternoon Letter,'' a forerunner of the Wall Street Journal. The gauge consists mainly of railroads.

May 26, 1896: Dow and Jones unveil an average of 12 industrial companies, initially valued at 40.94. General Electric Co. is the only original member that's part of the average today.

Jan. 12, 1906: First close above 100 at 100.25.

Dec. 12, 1914: Biggest percentage loss ever, 24.4 percent, as trading resumes after a 4 1/2-month shutdown of U.S. exchanges at the start of World War I. The average loses 17.42 to 54.

Oct. 1, 1928: The Dow becomes a 30-stock average.

Oct. 29, 1929: ``Black Tuesday.'' The Dow plummets 30.57, or 11.7 percent, to 230.07 after falling 12.8 percent the previous day. The retreat marks the end of the 1920s bull market and the beginning of the Great Depression.

March 15, 1933: Largest percentage gain ever, 15.3 percent. The Dow rallies 8.26 to 62.10 as the market begins to recover from the Great Depression.

March 12, 1956: First close above 500 at 500.23.

Nov. 14, 1972: First close above 1,000 at 1,003.15.

Jan. 8, 1987: First close above 2,000 at 2,002.25.

Oct. 19, 1987: ``Black Monday.'' Biggest percentage loss since the average expanded to 30 stocks, 22.6 percent. The Dow plunges 508 to 1,738.74.

April 17, 1991: First close above 3,000 at 3004.46.



Feb. 23, 1995: First close above 4,000 at 4,003.33. ``Internet bubble,'' driven by investor demand for shares of technology, media and telecommunications companies, gets under way.

Nov. 21, 1995: First close above 5,000 at 5,023.54.

Oct. 14, 1996: First close above 6,000 at 6,010.

Feb. 13, 1997: First close above 7,000 at 7,022.44.

July 16, 1997: First close above 8,000 at 8,038.88.

Oct. 27, 1997: ``Circuit breakers'' introduced after the 1987 crash to limit market losses take effect for the first, and so far only, time. The Dow tumbles 554.26 to 7,161.15, a decline of 7.2 percent.

April 6, 1998: First close above 9,000 at 9,033.23.

March 29, 1999: First close above 10,000 at 10,006.78.

May 3, 1999: First close above 11,000 at 11,014.69.

Jan. 14, 2000: Dow reaches close of 11,722.98, a record at the time, peaking eight weeks before the Nasdaq Composite Index and 10 weeks before the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The Internet bubble bursts and a bear market begins.

Sept. 17, 2001: Largest one-day point drop ever at the time, 684.81, on the first day of trading after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 7.1 percent loss sends the Dow to 8,920.70.

Oct. 9, 2002: Bear market ends with the average at 7,286.27, a 38 percent decline from its January 2000 peak.

Oct. 3, 2006: The Dow closes above its 2000 record for the first time at 11,727.34.

Oct. 19, 2006: First close above 12,000 at 12,011.73.

April 25, 2007: First close above 13,000 at 13,089.89.

July 19, 2007: First close above 14,000 at 14,000.41.

Oct. 9, 2007: Benchmark peaks at a record 14,164.53, giving the Dow a 94 percent gain in five years.

Sept. 29, 2008: Biggest point loss, with Dow falling 777.68 after the House of Representatives rejects a $700 billion plan to rescue the financial system. The benchmark loses 7 percent to 10,365.45.

Oct. 10, 2008: Worst weekly decline since the Dow expanded to 30 stocks in 1928, with the measure falling 18.2 percent to a five- year-low of 8,451.19 amid concern the global economy is headed for a recession.

Oct. 13, 2008: Biggest point gain, with Dow rising 936.42 following the government's plan to invest in banks and a Federal Reserve-led push to flood the global financial system with dollars. The benchmark advances 11.1 percent to 9,387.61.

Oct. 15, 2008: Dow plunges 7.9 percent, the most since a week after the 1987 stock-market crash, following the biggest drop in retail sales in three years. The benchmark falls to 8,577.91.

To contact the reporters on this story: David Wilson in New York at dwilson@bloomberg.net; Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net.