Macklin was the president of the National Association of Securities Dealers — which oversees stock brokers — and, in 1971, pushed a new idea: instead of trading stocks literally “over the counter,” a new method would be used: computers.
To fully put the system in place, Macklin created a new stock exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated Quotation — the Nasdaq. “This was the first electronic stock market,” said Columbia University professor John Coffee, who specializes in securities law. “Prior to Nasdaq, every market had a physical location. Nasdaq took dealers from around the U.S. and knitted them together electronically into one market,” Coffee explained.
“Like many things that changed the world, it started slowly with not a lot of attention, and its significance was not recognized until a decade or so later. Now, all markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, are becoming predominantly electronic markets,” Coffee continued. “So Nasdaq was the beginning of the future. And Gordon Macklin was the person most responsible for that.” Macklin died January 30 after suffering a stroke. He was 78.