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Fast Facts
POP Culture: 1940
ICONS: World War II, Anne Frank, Count Basie
- Marvel Comics introduces superhero Captain America in March 1941.
- After approximately 14 years, carving at Mount Rushmore concludes in October 1941.
- Diarist Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Achterhuis" on July 6, 1942, in Amsterdam.
- Walt Disney wins a 1943 Academy Award for his animated short film Der Fuehrer's Face.
- Band leader Alton Glenn Miller disappears while enroute to Paris, France, December 15, 1944.
- Department stores begin selling Tupperware® in 1946.
- Charles Yeager becomes the first man to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft.
- NASCAR® holds its first modified stock car race in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1948.
- George Orwell publishes Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1949.
The 1940 Census |
10 Largest Urban Places |
||||
| U.S. Resident Population: | 132,164,569 | Rank | Place | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population per square mile of land area: | 37.2 | 1 | New York City, NY | 7,454,995 | |
| Percent increase of population from 1930 to 1940: | 7.3 | 2 | Chicago, IL | 3,396,808 | |
| Official Enumeration Date: | April 1 | 3 | Philadelphia, PA | 1,931,334 | |
| Number of States: | 48 | 4 | Detroit, MI | 1,623,452 | |
| Cost: | $67,527,000 | 5 | Los Angeles, CA | 1,504,277 | |
| Cost per Capita (cents): | 51.1 | 6 | Cleveland, OH | 878,336 | |
| Total Pages in Published Reports: | 58,400 | 7 | Baltimore, MD | 859,100 | |
| Number of Enumerators: | 123,069 | 8 | St. Louis, MO | 816,048 | |
| Census Bureau Director: | William Lane Austin | 9 | Boston, MA | 770,816 | |
| Number of Questions on the Short Form: | 10 | Pittsburgh, PA | 671,659 | ||
| Number of Questions on the Long Form: | Other lists of largest urban places. | ||||
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