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Executive order 9066 is signed
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066 allowing the United States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the Japanese on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast. -
Agreement for 1st Atomic Bomb is signed
The development of the first atomic bomb is signed into agreement between the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. -
Manhattan Project
The first nuclear chain reaction is produced at the University of Chicago in the Manhattan Project, creating fission of the Uranium U-235, under the direction of physicists Arthur Compton and Enrico Fermi. -
Opening of World's largest office building
The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia. -
The Jefferson Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. is dedicated on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
1st African American official in US State Department
Ralph Bunche appointed 1st African American official in US State Department. -
The G.I. Bill of Rights
The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law, providing benefits to veterans. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes President of US
Franklin D. Roosevelt sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as US President. -
Sudden death of President Roosevelt
President Roosevelt dies suddenly; Vice President Harry S. Truman assumes the presidency and role as commander in chief of World War II. -
Use of Atomic Bomb
President Harry S. Truman gives the go-ahead for the use of the atomic bomb with the bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, the second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.