This study was conducted to investigate the sources of meaningful events across the lifespan. Both a quantitative approach and a qualitative approach were used to examine whether or not different measures reflected different domains of meaning and purpose. Subjects were 215 men and women, were classified in five developmental groupings: young adulthood (N=35), adulthood (N=47), middle adulthood (N=38), older middle adulthood (N=43), and older to "old-old" adults (N=50). The youngest subjects were from a community college and several of the oldest subjects were institutionalized in a nursing home, with the effects separated out. Subjects completed an interview schedule consisting of demographic data items and an open-ended questionnaire of reporting the most meaningful events in one's life with the age of occurrence. Subjects also completed a modified version of the Purpose-in-Life Test. The results revealed that the amount of meaning in a person's life did not seem to vary with age or gender. Similarly, what was meaningful to a person did not seem to alter with time. Work and love themes evolved as the most salient sources of meaning followed by births of children, miscellaneous quests, accidents/illness/deaths, separation/divorce, and to a lesser extent, major purchases. (Author/NB)