The notion of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate dates back to the 19th century. But it wasn't until after the turn of the 20th century, after San Francisco had rebuilt from the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, that the idea truly began taking shape. Here are some key dates from before, during and after the bridge's construction.

Aug. 26, 1916: James H. Wilkins, a former structural engineer, writes an article in the San Francisco Call Bulletin proposing a design that would span the Golden Gate Strait. World War I prevents serious discussion of designing such a bridge.

August 1919: San Francisco city officials ask City Engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy to explore the feasibility of a bridge crossing the Golden Gate. Joseph B. Strauss of Chicago suggests it can be done for $25 million to $30 million.

June 28, 1921: Strauss submits preliminary drawings of his initial hybrid bridge design. Reaction is not good. The basic design for the suspension bridge is set by 1930.

May 25, 1923: The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act is enacted by state Legislature, paving the way for organizing a district to oversee the design, construction and finances of building a bridge.

Dec. 4, 1928: The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District is formed to design, construct and finance the bridge. The district is made up of San Francisco, Marin, Del Norte and Sonoma counties, as well as parts of Napa and Mendocino counties.

Jan. 5, 1933: Construction of the bridge commences.

Oct. 21, 1936: The first fatality while constructing the bridge occurs when Kermit Moore is killed by a falling piece of equipment.

Feb. 17, 1937: Ten men die when a scaffold they are working on falls through a safety net.

May 27, 1937: Officials open the bridge with a pedestrian day. Thousands of people turn out to walk, roller-skate or otherwise cross the bridge for the first time.

May 28, 1937: The bridge opens for vehicular traffic, charging 50 cents per car each way.

Aug. 7, 1937: Harold Wobber, 47, a World War I veteran, is the first person known to commit suicide by jumping off the bridge.

Oct. 19, 1968: The bridge becomes the first major bridge in the world to offer one-way toll collection.

Feb. 22, 1985: The one-billionth car crosses the bridge.

May 24, 1987: The Bay Area celebrates the 50th anniversary of the bridge by closing it to traffic and allowing people to cross on foot. With about 300,000 people on the bridge, the roadway flattens.

Oct. 27, 1989: For weeks following the Loma Prieta earthquake, traffic is diverted to the Golden Gate and other bridges from the damaged Bay Bridge. The Golden Gate sees its highest volume of traffic this day, with 162,414 vehicles.

December 1992: Following the 1989 earthquake, the bridge district begins planning a seismic retrofit of the bridge. Work begins in 1997; completion is not expected until at least 2017.

Feb. 16, 1994: The bridge is named one of the seven civil engineering wonders of the United States by the American Society of Civil Engineers, along with the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and the World Trade Center.

Sept. 3, 1998: The bridge gets its own U.S. postage stamp.

Sept. 19, 2000: The American Public Works Association ranks the bridge one of the Top Ten Public Works Projects of the Century.

May 10, 2007: The Golden Gate Bridge district pays tribute to long-ignored bridge engineer Charles Ellis, considered chiefly responsible for its engineering and design, but fired by Strauss.

Emma Anderson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.