1940 Census records list Montana's population as 559,456

1940 Montana elects pacifist Jeannette Rankin to Congress again (Chapter 19)

1941 Great Depression ends (Chapter 18)

1941 United States enters World War II (Chapter 19)

1942 Airfields constructed near Great Falls, Lewistown, Cut Bank, and Glasgow (Chapter 19)

1942 Food and gas rationing begin (Chapter 19)

1943 Smith Mine disaster (Chapter 19)

1944 Congress enacts the GI Bill (Chapter 19)

1945 World War II ends (Chapter 19)

1947 Montana requires drivers to pass a driving test (Chapter 17)

1949 Thirteen Firefighters die in the Mann Gulch fire (Chapter 12)