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History of the Dow

Moneyzine Editor
Author: 
Moneyzine Editor
5 mins
September 20th, 2023
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The history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or DJIA, goes back to May 26, 1896. Charles Dow, Wall Street Journal editor and founder of Dow Jones and Company, first compiled and published the average as an indicator of stock market performance.

Original Components of the Dow

When first published, the original components, or member companies, of the Dow Jones Industrial Average included "smokestack" companies across a range of industries. Of the original twelve companies that made up the Industrials back in 1896, General Electric was the last company to be removed from the index on June 26, 2018. The other eleven companies included:

  • Additional Resources

    American Cotton Oil - Predecessor of Bestfoods

  • American Sugar - Evolved into Amstar Holdings

  • American Tobacco - Broken up in 1911 by antitrust actions

  • Chicago Gas - Now part of Peoples Energy

  • Distilling & Cattle Feeding - Evolved into Millennium Chemicals

  • Laclede Gas - Still in operation as Laclede Group

  • National Lead - Now known as NL Industries

  • North American - Utility broken up in the 1940s

  • Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company - Bought by U.S. Steel

  • U.S. Leather - Dissolved in 1952

  • U.S. Rubber - Now part of Michelin

Dow Jones Indexes

The original components of the Dow Jones Industrials have changed over the years, and the index no longer represents companies that are in strictly agricultural and "heavy industries" such as tobacco, sugar, iron, leather, and rubber. As the U.S. economy has grown to rely on non-industrial sectors, greater emphasis has been placed on companies providing financial services, retailing, and technology.

The first Dow Jones Index to be introduced was the Industrial Average, which was initially published on May 26, 1896. Leveraging the popularity and success of the industrials, Charles Dow later introduced the Dow Jones Transportation Average on October 26, 1896, and the Dow Jones Utility Average on January 2, 1929.

Dow Jones Industrials

Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of 30 companies that are thought to best mirror the U.S. economy. Representative companies of the Industrials include 3M, Caterpillar, The Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, McDonalds and NIKE. The Dow is normally quoted as an index. This means the stock price of each company is multiplied by a weighting factor to derive the composite index number.

By using an index, and introducing a weighting into the formula, companies can be inserted into the average without disrupting the historical movement of the index. A complete listing of the industrial companies and their weightings can be found here: Dow Jones Industrials.

Dow Jones Transportation

The Dow Jones Transportation Index consists of 20 companies that provide transportation services including rail, trucking, airlines, and automobiles. Representative companies in the Index include CSX Corp., FedEx Corporation, Overseas Shipholding Group, Southwest Airlines, and Ryder System, Inc. Just like the Industrials, each component or company in the Transportation index has a weighting. A complete list of the index can be downloaded here: Dow Jones Transportations.

Dow Jones Utility

The last of the Dow indexes to be introduced, the Dow Jones Utility Average, consists of 15 companies providing electricity and natural gas to consumers across the United States. Representative companies in the Index include Consolidated Edison, Exelon, Southern Company, and Williams Cos. A complete list of the index can be downloaded here: Dow Jones Utilities.

History of the Average

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the Dow's history is the time it took to reach 1,000 point milestones. When the index was first introduced, it stood at 40.94, and it took roughly 76 years to reach the 1,000 mark. As of this writing, the Dow has not hit the 34,000 mark.

The complete milestone history of the average appears in the table below:

DJIA Milestones

MilestoneDateTime
1,000November 14, 197276 Years
2,000January 8, 198714 Years, 2 Months
3,000April 17, 19914 Years, 3 Months
4,000February 23, 19953 Years, 10 Months
5,000November 21, 19959 Months
6,000October 14, 199611 Months
7,000February 13, 19974 Months
8,000July 16, 19975 Months
9,000April 6, 19989 Months
10,000March 29, 199912 Months
11,000May 3, 19991 Month
12,000October 19, 20067 Years, 5 Months
13,000April 25, 20076 Months
14,000July 17, 20073 Months
15,000May 7, 20135 Years, 10 Months
16,000November 18, 20136 Months
17,000July 3, 20148 Months
18,000December 23, 20145 Months
19,000November 22, 20161 Year, 11 Months
20,000January 25, 20172 Months
21,000March 1, 20171 Month
22,000August 2, 20175 Months
23,000October 17, 20172 Months
24,000November 30, 20171 Month
25,000January 4, 20181 Month
26,000January 17, 20182 Weeks
27,000July 11, 20191 Year, 6 Months
28,000November 15, 20194 Months
29,000January 15,20202 Months
30,000November 24, 202010 Months
31,000January 7, 20212 Months
32,000March 10, 20212 Months
33,000March 17, 20211 week
34,000

The Dow at 12,000

Moving the DJIA from the 11,000 to 12,000 mark seemed impossible until October 19, 2006, when the Dow broke through a 1,000 point milestone for the first time in the 21st century. This milestone represented a 1,000 point move in the index, but was only a 9.1% increase in the average. Seven years was a long time to reach this milestone, especially when compared to the 14 years it took to move from 1,000 to 2,000, which was a 100% increase in the average over that timeframe. Our article on the Dow at 12,000 contains additional information on this important and historical achievement.


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