2000: In a joint press conference, Celera Genomics Group, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Energy announce that they have completed the sequencing of the genome, which should ultimately unlock the mysteries of human health and sickness. Celera Genomics' stock promptly loses 11% of its value as Wall Street, which had "bought on the rumor," decides to "sell on the news."

The Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2000, pp. A3, A6

1981: Gail M. Pankey becomes the first African-American female member of the New York Stock Exchange.

New York Stock Exchange;Gail M. Pankey, interview with Jason Zweig, May 17, 2000.

1950: One day after North Korea invades the South, setting off the Korean War, Wall Street tumbles, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls more than 10 points, or 4.7%, to close at 213.91. Panicky investors redeem nearly one-eighth of all mutual fund assets by year-end; those who sell miss out on the greatest decade in modern stock-market history, as the S&P 500 gains 19.4% annually.

John A. Prestbo, ed., The Market's Measure: An Illustrated History of America Told through the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones, New York, 1999), p. 69;Investment Company Institute historical redemption data;Stock, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation 1996 Yearbook (Ibbotson Associates, Chicago, 1996), p. 268.