BrightPersonal FinanceRetirementFixed Income

The History of the Social Security Number

There are many twists and turns involved behind the story of who received the first Social Security number.
Save
The History of the Social Security Number
Social Security cards have an interesting history. Rix Pix Photography/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
Updated:
0:00

I have a granddaughter who is a junior in high school. Recently, she needed to write a report for her history class on any subject related to a federal government program. Because she knew that her grandpa worked for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for 32 years, she initially thought she'd write about the history of Social Security. I told her that was actually a pretty broad topic. Many entire books have been written about that subject—and her paper was supposed to be limited to 1,000 words.

So I suggested that she concentrate on the history of just one small part of Social Security, something her teacher and every student in her class were familiar with—the Social Security number (SSN). After all, everyone has one.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
Related Topics