When did the Dow Jones industrial average first close over the 1,000 mark?

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed over the 1,000 mark for the first time in January 1966, but it did not actually close above the 1,000 mark until November 14, 1972. When this event occurred, cheers rang out on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average had now crossed and stayed over the 1000 mark.

If ever there had been a psychological barrier for the Dow industrials, ”Dow 1,000” was it. The average had knocked on the door of 1,000 repeatedly for six years, but could never close above that ”magic” level.

Today, we remember 1972. Richard Nixon was president, ”The Godfather” was packing them in at the movies, and Americans were tuned to ”All in the Family” on television. The Watergate scandal, which later destroyed the Nixon administration, was only a cloud on the horizon. The Vietnam War was a major problem, but on the day the 1,000 barrier fell, North Vietnam had agreed that its representative would meet with U.S. negotiator Henry Kissinger for a new round of talks aimed at ending the war.

But, once the Dow Jones industrial average punctured the 1000 mark in 1972, a recession occurred and the brutal bear market of 1973-74 set in, pushing the average all the way down to 577.60 in December 1974. It would be late in 1982 (a full decade after the 1,000 mark milestone was first passed) before the industrials rose above 1,000 to stay.