1940s-1950s
High postwar birth rates fuel suburban growth.
1946
First Baby Boomers are born
1954
Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” inaugurates the rock ‘n’ roll era that became symbolic of the baby boom generation.
1959
More than 50 million Americans are under age 14, representing 30 percent of the population.
1960s - 1970s
Boomers continue to affect trends, increasing rates of college education & drug use.
1960
A record 66.5 million Americans are employed. Real wages are up almost 30 percent from 1940 levels. Nine of 10 U.S. households have TV’s. Sun City opens in Arizona, pioneering the idea of a retirement community.
1963
In a defining moment for the generation, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.
1965
Forty-one percent of Americans are under age 20
1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy are assassinated. Antiwar protests spread worldwide.
1970
College enrollment reaches nearly 8 million, vs. 3.6 million in 1960. First Earth Day ushers in modern environmental activism.
1973
Arab oil embargo triggers inflation.
1976
Writer Tom Wolfe names the “Me Decade.”
1980s - 1990s
Boomers set aside youthful rebelliousness to take a leading role in wealth creation & politics.
1980
College enrollment reaches 12 million students.
1983
Congress raises age for full Social Security payments from 65 to 67.
1984
Newsweek declares it the “year of the yuppie,” arguing that young, urban professionals are reshaping the economic & social landscape.
1986
The Age Discrimination Employment Act is amended to eliminate mandatory retirement ages.
1990
One in two Americans lives in suburbs - double the 1950 ratio.
1992
Bill Clinton becomes first boomer president.
2000s
Oldest boomers enter their 60s, raising concerns about funds for their retirements.
2000
For every American 65 or over there are 3.4 workers paying into Social Security - a ratio that will shrink to 2.0 by 2030.
2003
Congress passes prescription-drug benefit for seniors.
2005
President George W. Bush calls for privatizing Social Security, gets little support.
2007
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke says Social Security and Medicare will swallow 15 percent of annual economic output by 2030. Federal Aviation Administration proposes increasing retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65. Survey finds older Americans enjoy active sex lives. The nation’s first baby boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, 62, a retired schoolteacher in Cherry Hill, N.J., applies for Social Security benefits.
Jan. 1, 2008
Oldest boomers turn 62; become eligible for Social Security.
2010
Number of workers 55 and older hit 26 million - a 46 percent increase since 2000; number to reach 33 million by 2025.
Source: Congressional Quarterly Researcher