Concern with old age in our time has tended to focus attention on this stage of life in isolation from the entire life course. Without denying the unique problems of this period of life, it is important to interpret it in a life course and historical context. The recognition of old age as a unique stage of life in the twentieth century is part of a larger historical process involving the emergence of new stages of life and their societal recognition. It is also part of a continuing trend toward age segregation in the family and in the larger society (Hareven, 1976). A historical perspective is useful, therefore, because it sheds some light on long-term developments affecting ‘middle’ and ‘old’ age.