On May 26, 1896, the coronation of Czar Nicholas II was held in Moscow, and Charles Henry Dow published an index of industrial stocks for the first time in New York.
The index, known as the Dow Jones industrial average, has changed many times since 1896, when it was made up of 12 companies. It now numbers 30. On Wednesday, it broke 20,000 for the first time.
Here's a list of milestones in the marquis stock index.
Dow milestones
| Date | Close | Days | % Change for prior -000 | Annualized Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/26/1896 | 40.94 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1/12/1906 | 100.25 | 3884 | 144.87% | 8.79% |
| 12/19/1927 | 200.93 | 8011 | 100.43% | 3.22% |
| 3/12/1956 | 500.24 | 10311 | 148.96% | 3.28% |
| 11/14/1972 | 10003.16 | 6091 | 100.54% | 4.26% |
| 1/8/1987 | 2002.25 | 5168 | 99.59% | 5.01% |
| 4/17/1991 | 3004.46 | 1560 | 50.05% | 9.97% |
| 2/23/1995 | 4003.33 | 1408 | 33.25% | 7.73% |
| 11/21/1995 | 5023.55 | 271 | 25.48% | 35.79% |
| 10/14/1996 | 6010 | 328 | 19.64% | 22.10% |
| 2/13/1997 | 7022.44 | 122 | 16.85% | 59.38% |
| 7/16/1997 | 8038.88 | 153 | 14.47% | 38.09% |
| 4/6/1998 | 9033.23 | 264 | 12.37% | 17.51% |
| 3/29/1999 | 10006.78 | 357 | 10.78% | 11.04% |
| 5/3/1999 | 11014.69 | 35 | 10.07% | 172.23% |
| 10/19/2006 | 120011.73 | 2726 | 9.05% | 1.17% |
| 4/25/2007 | 13089.89 | 188 | 8.98% | 18.18% |
| 7/19/2007 | 14000.41 | 85 | 6.96% | 33.50% |
| 5/7/2013 | 15056.20 | 2119 | 7.54% | 1.26% |
| 11/21/2013 | 16009.99 | 198 | 6.33% | 12% |
| 7/3/2014 | 17068.26 | 224 | 6.61% | 11% |
| 12/23/2014 | 18024.17 | 173 | 5.60% | 12.19% |
| 11/22/2016 | 19023.87 | 700 | 5.55% | 2.86% |
| 1/25/2017 | 20015 | 64 | 5.21% | 33.62%* |
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices/Howard Silverblatt
* Before the closing bell
Other Dow 20K stories include:
DOW HITS 20,000 FOR THE FIRST TIME: Trump trade points to 21,000
88 years of the Dow 30—can you name them all?
When the Dow crosses a thousand, it usually means a new rally
Dow just hit 20,000, but here's the milestone that actually matters
With Dow 20K passed, $20 trillion on the national debt is next
The $2.5 trillion boom tracking Dow's rise to 20,000
Correction: The Dow closed at 18,024.17 on Dec. 23, 2014. An earlier version misstated the figure.