The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) celebrates its 44th Anniversary today. Russell Rhoads, Director of Education for the CBOE Options Institute, shared 44 fun facts on CBOE in the CBE blog today.  

1. The first day of trading for CBOE was April 26, 1973.
2. 911 option contracts traded on the first day in 1973.
3. There were only 16 stocks with options on the first day.
4. Seats at CBOE were originally offered at $10,000.
5. Initially put options were not permitted for trading.
6. In 1973, the Black Scholes model was published in the Journal of Political Economy.
7. In 1977 CBOE was permitted to start listing put options.
8. In 1981 CBOE broke ground on the current building.
9. In 1983 CBOE created options on broad based stock indexes with S&P 100 and S&P 500.
10. In 1984 CBOE moved into their new space at 400 S. LaSalle.
11. CBOE is the exclusive home to S&P 500 Index Option trading.
12. In 1984 CBOE hosted the first CBOE Risk Management Conference
13. In 1984 CBOE exchange volume topped 100 million contracts for the first time.
14. The CBOE Options Institute was created in 1985.
15. The CBOE Options Institute instructs more than 30,000 students annually.
16. LEAPs (Long-Term Equity Antici-Pation Securities) were introduced by CBOE in 1990.
17. In 1993 CBOE created the CBOE Volatility Index® or VIX®
18. CBOE quotes 29 volatility indexes on a variety of underlying markets.
19. CBOE introduced hand held market maker terminals in 1993.
20. In 1997 Robert C. Merton and Myron S. Scholes received the Nobel Price.
21. In 1998 Steve Sears first referred to VIX as “The Fear Index” in Barron’s.
22. In 2002 CBOE created the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM)
23. CBOE created the CBOE Futures Exchange in 2004.
24. CBOE-TV commenced in 2005 prior to YouTube.
25. CBOE created the first Weeklys options on SPX and OEX in 2005.
26. VIX options began trading at CBOE in 2006.
27. CBOE exchange wide volume exceeded one billion contracts for the first time in 2008.
28. Strategy of the Week hosted by Peter Lusk premiered on CBOE-TV in 2009.
29. In 2009, the first exchange traded product (VXX) based on VIX futures was launched
30. Shortly before CBOE’s 2010 IPO a CBOE seat changed hands for $2.75 million.
31. In 2010 CBOE converted to a publicly traded corporation, CBOE Holdings.
32. The first CBOE Risk Management Conference in Europe was held in 2011
33. “Trading VIX Derivatives” by Russell Rhoads was published in 2011.
34. The CBOE Blog site was introduced in 2011.
35. The London Hub for European customers became operational in 2013.
36. Ed Tilly became CEO of CBOE in 2013 succeeding Bill Brodsky.
37. In 2014 CBOE became the exclusive home for MSCI Index Option trading.
38. CBOE acquired LiveVol in 2014.
39. VIX Futures trading expanded to almost 24 hours a day in 2014.
40. In 2015 CBOE became the exclusive home to Russell 2000 Index Option trading.
41. SPX and VIX options began trading outside of US trading hours in 2015.
42. The first Asian version of CBOE RMC was held in Hong Kong in 2015.
43. Average daily volume for SPX index options topped 1 million in 2016.
44. CBOE completed a purchase of Bats Global Markets in 2017.