Apple I at the Smithsonian Museum Wikimedia Commons Apple's addition to the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a great example of how far the world has come.

The iPhone maker takes the place of AT&T, which was better-known as American Telephone & Telegraph when it originally joined the Dow in October 1916.



This 30-stock index has seen a lot of turnover in its history. And believe it or not, there were only 12 stocks in it when it was created in 1896.



"The Dow Jones Industrial Average consisted entirely of industrial stocks, as it was published for the first time," noted S&P's Howard Silverblatt. It's a lot more diverse today.

And only one of the original 12 members continues to hold a spot in it.

