G.I. Bill of Rights is adopted in Washington, D.C.

Officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, it is signed by President Franklin Roosevelt and extends benefits to veterans that include health care at newly-created veterans’ hospitals, no-down-payment, low-interest home mortgages, and pays for free-four year-year college expenses. Called by some “the largest transfer of wealth in U.S. history,” the legislation sparks a dramatic growth in U.S. suburbs and in college enrollment.