1986: Sun Microsystems, Inc. goes public on NASDAQ at an initial price of $16 per share.

1933: With the nation’s banking system in shambles, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt orders a nationwide bank holiday. On his first day in office, Roosevelt issues an executive decree under the Emergency War Powers Act. Banks must close to prevent a run on their deposits by frightened customers and to give government authorities a chance to reform their finances; the stock exchanges, the commodities exchanges, and the money markets are also closed. The stock exchanges are reopened on March 15, but 3,460 (out of some 18,000 total) banks stay closed for good.

1865: President Lincoln was inaugurated for his 2nd term as president.

1472: The worlds oldest continually operating bank, the Monte della Pieta (now known as the Monte dei Paschi di Siena), is founded in Siena, Italy to lend money to poor or wretched or needy persons at 7.5% annual interest. Today the Monte dei Paschi, still headquartered in the same building, is one of the largest banks in Italy.