Conversation so far:
who got the very first social security number
The first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr.
when was the first social security number assigned
On December 1, 1936, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr.

Question: why were they issued
Self-contained rewrite: why were social security numbers issued