On November 15, 1867, the first stock ticker was unveiled in
New York City. The advent of the ticker revolutionized the
stock market by making up-to-the-minute prices available
to investors around the country.
Prior to this development, information from the New York
Stock Exchange, which has been around since 1792,
traveled by mail or messenger.
The ticker was the brainchild of Edward Calahan, who
configured a telegraph machine to print stock quotes
on streams of paper tape (the same paper tape later
used in ticker-tape parades).
The ticker, which caught on quickly with investors, got
its name from the sound its type wheel made.
Edward Augustin Calahan (1838–1912)
The First Stock Ticker – Postcard.