1941

World Events

• December 7: Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading the United States into World War II.

  Listen to FDR's radio address after the Pearl Harbor attack.

• Germany invades Russia.
• Penicillin is mass produced.
• U.S. Supreme Court upholds laws that restrict working hours for 16- and 18-year olds and set a minimum wage for businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

San Diego History

• Search lights and a radar station are installed on the roof of the El Cortez hotel, the tallest building in San Diego's downtown.
• The Salton Sea is used by commercial fishermen after German submarines make ocean fishing hazardous.

Arts

• The National Gallery of Art opens in Washington D.C. with an endowment from American Businessman Paul Mellon.
• Edward Hopper paints Nighthawks.
• Orson Welles creates the benchmark for cinema, Citizen Kane.
• Ansel Adams photographs Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.

American Life

• After Forrest Mars Sr. noticed soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating small candy covered chocolate nuggets, he introduced his M&M's® to the United States' soldiers and the public. The candy gains popularity for its survival in many climates.
• The first aerosol cans are developed.