Social Security Board

Upon the signing of the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, a three-person Social Security Board was created to run the new program. Although one member was designated as the Chairman, all three members had equal status and each had one vote in Board decisions. The first Chairman of the Board was John Winant (a former Governor of New Hampshire). Winant was Chairman from August 1935 until February 1937. Arthur J. Altmeyer became Chairman of the Board in 1937, until 1946. In 1946 a reorganization took place and the Social Security Board was replaced by the Social Security Administration (SSA), with a single Commissioner as head of the SSA. Arthur J. Altmeyer, the incumbent Chairman of the Board, became the first Commissioner of Social Security. (See information on Social Security Commissioners.)