History of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
The New York Stock Exchange's history dates back to 1792, when two dozen stockbrokers met on Wall Street and agreed to create an exchange to buy and sell various investments, including stocks and bonds. Known as the Buttonwood Agreement, this pact eventually led to the brokers converging in their current location on Wall Street and Broad Street in the mid-1860s.
Over time, the NYSE has gradually modernized its operations by adopting new technology to facilitate trading activity. Although the stock exchange still has a trading floor, there's now extensive electronic trading activity on the NYSE, complementing the live trading activity that still takes place.