36 Facts About Charles Dow

1.

Charles Dow invented the Dow Jones Industrial Average as part of his research into market movements.

2.

Charles Dow developed a series of principles for understanding and analyzing market behavior which later became known as Dow theory, the groundwork for technical analysis.

3.

Charles Henry Dow was born in Sterling, Connecticut, on November 6,1851.

4.

Charles Dow did not have much education or training, but he managed to find work at the age of 21 with the Springfield Daily Republican, in Massachusetts.

5.

Charles Dow worked there from 1872 until 1875 as a city reporter for Samuel Bowles, who taught his reporters to write crisp, detailed articles.

6.

Charles Dow then moved on to Rhode Island, joining the Providence Star, where he worked for two years as a night editor.

7.

In 1877, Charles Dow joined the staff of the prominent Providence Journal.

8.

Charles Dow specialized in articles on regional history, some of which were later published in pamphlet form.

9.

Charles Dow made history come alive in his writing by explaining the development of various industries and their future prospects.

10.

Charles Dow reported on Newport real estate investments, recording the money earned and lost during the city's history.

11.

Charles Dow wrote histories of public education and the prison system in the state.

12.

Charles Dow learned a great deal about the world of money on that journey as the men smoked cigars, played cards, and swapped stories.

13.

Charles Dow interviewed many highly successful financiers and heard what sort of information the investors on Wall Street needed to make money.

14.

The businessmen seemed to like and trust Charles Dow, knowing that he would quote them accurately and keep a confidence.

15.

Charles Dow wrote nine "Leadville Letters" based on his experiences there.

16.

Charles Dow described the Rocky Mountains, the mining companies, and the boomtown's gambling, saloons, and dance halls.

17.

Charles Dow wrote of raw capitalism and the information that drove investments, turning people into millionaires in a moment.

18.

Charles Dow described the disappearance of the individual mine-owners and the financiers who underwrote shares in large mining consortiums.

19.

In 1880, Charles Dow left Providence for New York City, realizing that the ideal location for business and financial reporting was there.

20.

When John J Kiernan asked Dow to find another reporter for the Bureau, Dow invited Edward Davis Jones to work with him.

21.

Jones and Charles Dow had met when they worked together at the Providence Evening Press.

22.

He, like Charles Dow, was committed to reporting on Wall Street without bias.

23.

Charles Dow Bergstresser was the chief financier of the fledgling company, but chose to be a silent partner.

24.

Simultaneously to his work in publishing, in 1885 Charles Dow served as a Partner in the NYSE brokerage house of Goodbody, Glynn and Charles Dow where he remained until its dissolution six years later.

25.

Charles Dow's Partner, Robert Goodbody, was an Irish citizen and thus at that time ineligible to own a seat.

26.

Charles Dow often warned his reporters about exchanging slanted stories for stock tips or free stock.

27.

Crusading for honesty in financial reporting, Charles Dow would publish the names of companies that hesitated to give information about profit and loss.

28.

Vermont Royster, a later editor of the Wall Street Journal, said Charles Dow always believed business information was not the "private province of brokers and tycoons".

29.

Charles Dow added an editorial column called "Review and Outlook" and "Answers to Inquirers," in which readers sent investment questions to be answered.

30.

Charles Dow still wrote editorials, now focusing on the place that government held in American business.

31.

Charles Dow took this opportunity to devise the Charles Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896.

32.

In 1899, Charles Dow started an editorial column in his newspaper in order to educate the general reader until his death in 1902.

33.

The basic idea of Charles Dow is that the stock price is affected by various factors interacting at the same time, leading to distinct patterns of stock price movement.

34.

At age 30, having moved to New York City the prior year to accept a job offer, Charles Dow married his wife Lucy, who had a daughter from a previous marriage.

35.

In 1902, Charles Dow began to have health problems and Bergstresser wanted to retire.

36.

Charles Dow is interred in North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island.