Saul Bellow graduates from Northwestern. Franklyn Snyder becomes University president. The first-ever NCAA Men's Basketball Championship held at Northwestern in Patten Gymnasium. Student Interracial Commission formed as a reaction to housing problems on campus because of the administration's belief that it was unfeasible to house black and white students together. Scott Hall in Evanston and Abbott Hall in Chicago open.
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
1941 Lutkin Hall opens. Benny Goodman plays at the Junior Prom. Wildcats win the first NCAA Men's Fencing Championship. First controlled atomic reaction conducted by Enrico Fermi and colleagues below Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. 1942 Technological Institute completed.