Who is considered the founder of modern technical analysis?

Charles Dow is considered the founder of modern technical analysis primarily due to his development of the Dow Theory, which laid the groundwork for understanding market trends and price movements. In the late 19th century, Dow, along with Edward Jones, co-founded Dow Jones & Company and created the first stock market averages, which were essential in analyzing market behavior. His insights, published in a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal, emphasized the importance of price action and volume in predicting future market direction.

Dow’s work established the foundational principles of technical analysis, including the idea that price discounts all information and that price movements are not random but follow identifiable trends. This has profoundly influenced the field and is still a core aspect of technical analysis education today. His legacy continues to inform traders and analysts on how to analyze market conditions and make informed trading decisions based on historical price patterns.

In contrast, while figures like John Murphy, Alan Andrews, and Robert Prechter have made significant contributions to technical analysis and developed their own methodologies, it was Dow's pioneering work that established the framework upon which modern practices were built. This historical context reinforces why Charles Dow is recognized as the founder of modern technical analysis.