June 8, 1934: Federal legislation to promote economic security is recommended in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Message to Congress.

June 29, 1934: Roosevelt creates the Committee on Economic Security to study the problems related to the issue and to make recommendations for a program of legislation.

Jan. 17, 1935: The Committee on Economic Security's recommendations are introduced in the 74th Congress.

April 4, 1935: The Social Security Act is passed in the House of Representatives, 372-33.

June 19, 1935: The Social Security Act is passed in the Senate, 77-6.

Aug. 14, 1935: The Social Security Act becomes law with Roosevelt's signature.

Aug. 23, 1935: The Senate confirms the president's nomination of the original members of the Social Security Board: John G. Winant, chairman; Arthur J. Altmeyer and Vincent M. Miles.

Oct. 14, 1936: The first Social Security field office is opened in Austin, Texas.

Nov. 9, 1936: The Baltimore office for record-keeping operations opens in the Candler Building.

Nov. 24, 1936: Applications for Social Security account numbers are distributed by the Post Office.

Jan. 1, 1937: Workers begin to acquire credits toward old-age insurance benefits.

January 1937: The first applications for benefits are filed. Ernest Ackerman, a retired Cleveland motorman, is among the first to apply.

March 11, 1937: The first Social Security benefits are paid (one-time payment only).

July 1, 1939: Under the Federal Reorganization Act of 1939, the Social Security Board is made part of the newly established Federal Security Agency.

Aug. 10, 1939: The Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 broadens the program to include benefits for dependents and survivors.

Jan. 31, 1940: Ida May Fuller becomes the first person to receive an old-age monthly benefit check.

Nov. 19, 1945: In a special message to Congress, President Harry Truman proposes a comprehensive, prepaid medical insurance plan for all people through the Social Security system.

July 16, 1946: Under the President's Reorganization Plan of 1946, the Social Security Board is abolished and the Social Security Administration is established. Arthur J. Altmeyer is appointed as the first commissioner.

Aug. 28, 1950: Truman signs the 1950 Social Security Amendments.

Sept. 9, 1954: Social Security Amendments establishes a disability "freeze" to help prevent the erosion of a disabled worker's benefits.

Aug. 1, 1956: The Social Security Act is amended to provide monthly benefits to permanently and totally disabled workers ages 50 to 64 and for adult children of deceased or retired workers, if disabled before age 18.

June 30, 1961: The Social Security Amendments of 1961 are signed by President John F. Kennedy, permitting all workers to elect reduced retirement at age 62.

July 30, 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Medicare Bill in the presence of Truman.

Oct. 12, 1966: Johnson visits the SSA's headquarters to participate in the 15th Annual Honor Awards Ceremony -- the first visit by a president.

Dec. 30, 1969: President Richard Nixon signs the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. Monthly cash benefits are provided to coal miners who became totally disabled because of black lung diseases and for their dependents and survivors.

July 1, 1972: Nixon signs into law P.L. 92-336, which authorizes a 20 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) effective September 1972 and establishes the procedures for issuing automatic annual COLAs beginning in 1975.

Jan. 19, 1973: The Administration Building at SSA headquarters is renamed the Arthur J. Altmeyer Building, in memory of the late commissioner.

Jan. 1, 1974: The SSI program goes into operation as a result of the Social Security Amendments of 1972.

March 9, 1977: HEW reorganization plan is published in the Federal Register, creating the Health Care Financing Administration to manage the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

June 9, 1980: President Jimmy Carter signs the Social Security Amendments of 1980. Major provisions involve greater work incentives for disabled Social Security and SSI beneficiaries.

Aug. 13, 1981: The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 makes major changes in Social Security, SSI and AFDC. These include a phasing out of students' benefits, stopping young parents' benefits when a child reaches 16, limiting the lump-sum death payment and changes in the minimum benefit.

Jan. 20, 1983: The National Commission on Social Security Reform sends its recommendations for resolving the Social Security program's financial problems to the president and Congress.

April 20, 1983: President Ronald Reagan signs into law the Social Security Amendments of 1983.

Oct. 9, 1984: The Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984 is signed by Reagan.

Aug. 14, 1985: Social Security celebrates its 50th anniversary.

June 6, 1986: Reagan signs the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act, which establishes Social Security coverage for federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 1983.

Oct. 1, 1988: A nationwide Social Security 800-number service is implemented.

Feb. 20, 1990: The Supreme Court holds in Sullivan vs. Zebley that substantial parts of the SSI regulation on determining disability for children are inconsistent with the Social Security Act.

May 17, 1994: SSA's Internet site is launched: www.ssa.gov

March 31, 1995: SSA becomes an independent agency.

Dec. 8, 1998: The first White House Conference on Social Security is held in Washington, D.C.

Oct. 1, 1999: SSA begins its annual mailing of Social Security statements to all workers age 25 and over.

April 7, 2000: President Bill Clinton signs into law a bill eliminating the Retirement Earnings Test (RET) for those beneficiaries at or above normal retirement age.

Source: ssa.gov

For a more in-depth look at the history of Social Security, visit ssa.gov.