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In 1940
President: Franklin D Roosevelt
Vice President: John N. Garner
Population: 132,122,446
Federal spending: $9.47 billion
Federal debt: $50.7 billion
Consumer Price Index: 14
Unemployment: 14.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.03
Selective Service Act signed.
The first Social Security benefit checks are paid
out (Jan 30).
The Pennsylvania Turnpike opens. It is the first
multilane U.S. superhighway. The first Los Angeles
freeway opens.
The first McDonald's hamburger stand opens in
Pasadena, Calif.
Winston Churchill becomes Britain's Prime Minister.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania annexed by U.S.S.R.
Hitler invades Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium,
France, and Luxembourg.
About Arizona
Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan friar, was the
first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area
in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.
Although he was followed a year later by another gold
seeker, Francisco Vαsquez de Coronado, most of the early
settlement was for missionary purposes. In 1775 the
Spanish established Fort Tucson. In 1848, after the
Mexican War, most of the Arizona territory became part
of the U.S., and the southern portion of the territory
was added by the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.
Nickname: Grand Canyon State
Origin of name: Uncertain. Perhaps from the
O'odham Indian word for little spring
Selected famous natives and residents:
Erma Bombeck humorist and writer;
Glen Campbell singer;
Lynda Carter actress;
Cochise Apache chief;
Alice Cooper singer and songwriter;
Wyatt Earp marshall;
Geronimo (Goyathlay) Apache chief;
Barry Goldwater politician;
Zane Grey novelist;
Stevie Nicks singer;
Sandra Day O'Connor jurist;
Linda Ronstadt singer;
Tanya Tucker singer;
Frank Lloyd Wright architect. |
