1985: Finance ministers and central bankers of the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K., meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, announce coordinated measures to reduce the foreign-currency value of the U.S. dollar, which is near all-time highs. Amazingly, the "Plaza Accord" works, as the dollar begins a decade-long decline, spurring U.S. exports and creating a windfall for U.S. investors in foreign stocks.

1954: The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closes at 32.00, finally rising above the record high it had set on September 16, 1929. Sometimes the long-run performance of stocks takes a remarkably long time to manifest itself.

David M. Blitzer, chief investment strategist, Standard & Poor's Corp.

1851: The nascent telegraph industry gets a big boost as the Erie Railroad becomes the first train company to use the telegraph for dispatching trains, vastly improving the safety and efficiency of rail travel.

John F. Stover, The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads (Routledge, New York and London, 1999), p. 71.