(If you missed our first installment of “Great Moments in Financial History,” detailing Maria Bartiromo’s appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy, you definitely want to check this out)
Traders, take a second from shifting vol and imagine this announcement:
“Traders, your work here is done. The market has done all it can do for you this year, so we’re closing it. Come back in December, just in time for Christmas bonuses.”
That was pretty much the case this day in 1914, although some believe the extended holiday was due to that particularly gory flick showing in the European theater at the time. From the Freakonomics Blog:

On July 31, 1914, officials shut down the New York Stock Exchange following news that Germany had declared Kriegsgefahrzustand (defined as an “imminent-danger-of-war situation“) while Austria and Turkey were already mobilizing.

From the NYSE’s website, the exchange, “Reopened for trading in bonds with price restrictions on November 28, 1914; for trading in a limited number of stocks under price restrictions on December 12, 1914; and for trading in all stocks, under price restrictions, on December 15, 1914. All restrictions were removed April 1, 1915.” The hiatus was the longest in the NYSE’s history since 1885. There was no extended closing during World War II.
And Today Is… [Freakonomics Blog]