June 5
Literature in 1848
John C. Fremont submitted his Geographical Memoir to the U.S. Senate. He named the entrance to San Francisco Bay “Chrysopylae,” meaning Golden Gate in Greek to honor the ancient Golden Horn of Constantinople.
The golden gate from Telegraph Hill in San Francisco in 1872. An engraving from a study by James D. Smillie, engraved by E. P. Brandard and published in Picturesque America, D. Appleton & Company, New York, New York 1872.
San Juan Capistrano (1910).
Post Offices in 1867
San Juan Capistrano post office opened. By 1877 San Juan Capistrano had a school, telegraph office, post office, two stores, hotel, four saloons and forty to fifty homes, mostly of adobe.
Business in 1875
Pacific Stock Exchange formally opened in San Francisco. It organized chaotic trading in Comstock Lode silver mines.
Bay Bridge History. worker on west span tower 2 (1936).
Accidents in 1936
George Zink, 40-year-old San Francisco Bay Bridge worker, fell to his death. He was the 22nd man killed on the transbay bridge construction.
Race Relations in 1943
Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles. Racial violence broke out for days between Anglo American sailors and Marines stationed in the city and Latino youths, recognizable by zoot suits they wore.
Zoot suit riot (1943).
Civil Rights in 1959
Forty San Francisco Bay Area teachers, accused of being Communists, were subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. The American Civil Liberties Union said it would do everything possible to block the hearings.
House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Crime in 1968
Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. presidential candidate, was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian. Kennedy died the next day.
Compton mayor Doris Davis.
Government in 1973
Doris Davis was elected mayor of Compton. She became the first African-American woman to govern a city in a major metropolitan area.
Sports in 1977
The Los Angeles Dodgers retired Walt Alston’s #24. He managed the Brooklyn-then-Los Angeles Dodgers between 1954 and 1976. He was known as “The Quiet Man.”
Walt Alston, Topps #24 back (1969).
Crime in 1997
Cremated remains of some 2,000 people were found in a Discovery Bay storage facility. They were kept by a flying service that was supposed to dispose of the remains at sea or over the Sierras.
Pride Rainbow Flag.
Public Health in 1981
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five people in Los Angeles had a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems. Those turned out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
Torme in 1999
Mel Torme, Jazz and pop singer, died in Los Angeles at age 73. Called the “Velvet Fog,” Torme was best known for standards.
Sports in 2002
Magic Johnson, legendary Los Angeles Laker, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ramone in 2002
Dee Dee Ramone, founding member, songwriter and bassist for the Ramones, died in Hollywood at age 49. He struggled with drug addiction for much of his life.
Ronald Reagan.
Reagan in 2004
Ronald Reagan died in Bel-Aire. Actor and politician, he served as Governor of California (1967–1975) and President of the United States (1981–1989).
Crime in 2005
FBI agents in Lodi arrested Hamid Hayat, age 22, for training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison for supporting terrorists by training with them in Pakistan.
U.N. World Environment Day.
Government in 2005
Big city mayors from around the world signed urban environmental accords. That ended a 5-day U.N. World Environment conference in San Francisco.
Crime in 2009
Raymond Lee Oyler, a 38-year-old convicted arsonist, was sentenced to death for starting the Esperanza wildfire (2006). Five federal firefighters died defending a rural home from raging, wind-driven flames.
Esperanza Fire (2006).
Forsman in 2009
Clyde Forsman, singer and accordion enthusiast known for his full body tattoos, died in San Francisco at age 94. He was a founding member of “Those Darn Accordions.”
Great Seal of California.
Government in 2012
California voters approved Proposition 28. It reduced the time citizens can serve in the state Legislature from 14 years to 12, but allowed a member to serve the entire time in one house.
Crime in 2012
Aldo Joseph Baccala, age 71, of Sonoma County, was charged with 167 felony counts of grand theft, securities fraud and elder abuse after investigators uncovered his $20 million Ponzi scheme.
Aldo Joseph Baccala.
June 6
Levi Strauss & Co. logo
Business in 1850
Levi Strauss made his first pair of sturdy pants for sale to gold miners. Today Levi Strauss & Co. is the world’s largest brand-name apparel manufacturer.
Accidents in 1853
The Carrier Pigeon, a merchant sailing vessel from Boston, wrecked and sank when it struck a reef off Whale Point, later called Pigeon Point. That prompted the building of the Pigeon Point lighthouse in San Mateo County.
Pigeon Point lighthouse.
Inventions in 1871
Hannah G. Suplee and John H. Mooney, of San Francisco, patented an Improvement in sewing machines.
Hannah G. Suplee and John H. Mooney, of San Francisco, patented an Improvement in sewing machines (1871).
Transformers (2007).
Business in 1914
Three movie companies in Los Angeles and San Francisco merged to form the Paramount Picture Corp. Recent releases include “Mission: Impossible” (1996), “Transformers” (2007), the Marvel Cinematic Universe series (2008–11) and Indiana Jones (1981–2008).
Movies in 1930
A talkie newsreel was shown at the Marion Davies and Embassy Theaters as well as motion-picture houses throughout Northern California and Nevada.
Howard Jarvis and Proposition 13 (1978).
Government in 1978
Passage of Proposition 13 cut California property taxes by 57%, beginning a downward trend in state budgets. Spending for California public schools, which during the 1960s ranked among the top nationally fell to 50th in 2014.
Haley in 1979
Jack Haley, stage, radio, and film actor and singer, died in Los Angeles at age 81. He is best known as the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
Johnny Rockets.
Business in 1986
Ronn Teitelbaum opened Johnny Rockets, a diner themed restaurant, on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. By 2000 it grew to 138 restaurants in 25 states.
Getz in 1991
Stan Getz, legendary tenor jazz saxophonist, died in Malibu at age 64. He was best known for popularizing bossa nova with a worldwide hit single “The Girl from Ipanema” (1964).
Sacramento Surge.
Sports in 1992
The Sacramento Surge defeated the Orlando Thunder, 21-1, in the World Bowl 2 of the World League of American Football played in Montreal, Canada.
Public Health in 1996
San Francisco became the first city in the nation to sue the tobacco industry. It sought an end to advertisements aimed at children and repayment of millions of public dollars spent to treat smoking-related illnesses.
Philip Morris.
Public Health in 2001
A Los Angeles jury awarded more than $3 billion to Richard Boeken, a lifelong smoker. It decided Philip Morris was responsible for his lung cancer. The award was reduced to $50 million. Boeken died in 2002.
Business in 2004
Oracle, in Redwood City, issued a $5.1 billion hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft, headquartered in Pleasanton, at $16 per share.
Business in 2005
Apple Corp., in Cupertino, confirmed plans to switch to microprocessors made by Intel Corp., headquartered in Santa Clara.
Business in 2005
PropLogis, the largest U.S. real estate investment trust, announced plans to buy developer Catellus Corp. for $4.9 billion. Both were headquartered in San Francisco.
Palm Inc.
Business in 2009
Palm Inc., in Sunnyvale, introduced the Pre smart phone. Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, accused the Pre of copying elements of the user interface. Two days later Apple unveiled an updated versions of its popular iPhone.
Business in 2011
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple in Cupertino, unveiled a service called iCloud to store music, photos, documents, and electronic books and wirelessly transfer them between Apple devices.
iCloud.
Golden State Warriors.
Sports in 2011
The Golden State Warriors, in Sacramento, hired Mark Jackson to be their new head coach. Jackson, a former NBA star and television sports commentator had never coached a professional basketball team.
Williams in 2013
Esther Williams, teenage swimming champion and Hollywood movie star, died in Beverly Hills at age 91. She appeared in “aqua musicals” in the 1940s and 1950s, featuring elaborate synchronized swimming and diving.
June 7
Lasuén in 1736
Padre Fermín Lasuén was born in Spain. He governed the California mission system three years longer than Junipero Serra and founded Mission Santa Barbara (1786), La Purísima Concepción (1787), Santa Cruz (1791), Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (1791), San José (1797), San Juan Bautista (1797), San Miguel Arcángel (1797), San Fernando Rey de España (1797) and San Luis Rey de Francia (1798).
Santa Barbara Mission by Lloyd Harting (1901 – 1974)
Overland Journeys in 1828
Jedediah Smith, on his second journey to California, led a party of people down the Klamath River. They were starving when Indians brought them food. Smith’s party turned north to Oregon where most were killed by Umpqua Indians.
Market Street Railway (1860)
Transportation in 1860
Workmen began laying track for the Market Street Railroad in San Francisco. It opened on July 4, 1860, as both a horse car and steam train line.
Organizations in 1875
The California Rifle and Pistol Association was founded. Today its members represent competitive and recreational shooters, hunters, youth, women, police, firearm experts and trainers and people who own guns to defend their families.
California Rifle and Pistol Association.
Libraries in 1879
San Francisco Public Library opened. Andrew Hallidie, promoter of the cable cars, was a major public library advocate. A new Civic Center Library, which opened in 1996, was a setting for the film “City of Angels” (1998).
San Francisco Public Library.
Inventions in 1887
Amelia Waterhouse of San Francisco patented a reversible broiler or toaster.
Amelia Waterhouse patented a reversible broiler & toaster (1887).
Movies in 1909
Mary Pickford, “America’s Sweetheart,” made her screen debut at age 16 then made a film each week for the rest of the year. She later co-founded United Artists and was an original member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Harlow in 1937
Jean Harlow, legendary film actress and 1930s sex symbol, died in Los Angeles at age 26. She was known as the “Blond Bombshell” or the “Platinum Blonde” and popular for her “Laughing Vamp” characters.
Lux Radio Theater.
Radio in 1955
Lux Radio Theater permanently signed off the air. The show launched in New York in 1934 then moved to Los Angeles in 1936 and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
Radio in 1959
KLX-AM in Oakland changed its call letters to KEWB. Today it’s KNEW-AM, a business talk-radio format.
Public Health in 1967
Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic opened in San Francisco. It began with a $500 donation from All Saints Episcopal Church. The clinic started a nationwide free clinic movement.
Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic.
Moby Grape.
Crime in 1967
Three Moby Grape band members were arrested on Mt. Tamalpais for having sex with underage girls after a concert at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.
Theater in 1974
Steve Silver’s “Beach Blanket Babylon” premiered at the Savoy Tivoli in San Francisco. Its songs that poke fun at pop and political culture were performed by actors wearing enormous hats/wigs and gaudy costumes. It became the longest-running musical revue in the world.
Henry Miller, Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
Miller in 1980
Henry Miller, writer, died in Pacific Palisades at age 88. His Tropic of Cancer (1934), Black Spring (1936), Tropic of Capricorn (1939) and The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy (1949–59), were banned in the U.S. until 1961.
Sports in 1982
Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers, became the fifth player to play in 1,000 consecutive games. Overall with the Dodgers, he played in 1,727 games for 14 seasons and hit .301 with 211 homers and 992 RBI.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Science in 1999
Scientists at U.C. Berkeley’s Lawrence Livermore Labs reportedly created elements 118 and 116 from krypton-86 and Lead-208. But in 2002 Victor Ninov was accused of faking the data. False data by Ninov was also reported on elements 110 and 112 from experiments in 1994 and 1996.
Bartonella Rochilame.
Science in 2007
U.C. San Francisco scientists reportedly identified a new species of bacteria, Bartonella Rochalimae. An American tourist was sickened by it after spending weeks trekking in Peru.
Business in 2010
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple in Cupertino, unveiled the iPhone 4. Apple sold some 72 million iPhones in fiscal year 2011..
Crime in 2013
Richard Ramirez, the 53-year-old known as the “Night Stalker” killer, was executed at San Quentin Prison in Marin County. He had been on death row or nearly 28 years.
Richard Ramirez (1985).
June 8
Los Angeles Cable Railway, the city’s third cable car system begin service. It included two lines that snaked through much of the city. The first featured a viaduct over the Los Angeles River and Southern Pacific rail yard, stretching from East Los Angeles (now Lincoln Heights) to Jefferson and Grand. The other extended between Westlake (now MacArthur) Park and Boyle Heights.
Los Angeles Cable Railway.
XB-70 Valkyrie (1966).
Accidents in 1966
A F-104 Starfighter collided with a XB-70 Valkyrie prototype near Edwards Air Force Base. Both planes were destroyed. The Valkyrie was designed to be a high-altitude Mach 3, nuclear-armed deep-penetration strategic bomber for the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command.
Sports in 1968
Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers, pitched a record 58 consecutive scoreless inning.
Television in 1969
“Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” filmed in Los Angeles (1967-1969), aired its final episode. The show was among the first to appeal to youth viewers with political satire and music acts like Buffalo Springfield, Pete Seeger and The Who and comedians like Steve Martin. The show was highly controversial and upset CBS executives.
Sports in 1982
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the 36th NBA Championship, 4-2. It was their second NBA title in three years. The film “Something To Prove,” about this series, was the last NBA video documentary to exclusively use film in all on-court action.
Erving, Jabbar and Malone. Lakers vs. Sixers in NBA Finals (1982-83).
Richard Riordan.
Government in 1993
Los Angeles voters elected their first registered Republican mayor since 1961. They chose Richard Riordan over City Councilman Michael Woo.
Music in 1997
Jon Nakamatsu, age 29, of San Jose won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas. He was the first American to win this prize since 1981.
Business in 1998
Federal Trade Commission filed a suit against Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, for using its monopoly power to bully other computer companies.
Business in 1998
Wells Fargo, in San Francisco, and Norwest Corp., in Minneapolis, reported a merger plan valued at $30-34 billion to form the nation’s 6th largest bank.
Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco.
Seagate Corp.
Business in 2005
Seagate, in Cupertino, introduced a disk drive for notebook computers that stored 160 gigabytes of data. It used technology called perpendicular recording.
Rorty in 2007
Richard Rorty, philosophy professor and author, died in Palo Alto at age 75. His books included Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979).
Museums in 2008
The Contemporary Jewish Museum opened next to St. Patrick’s Church in San Francisco. Designed by Daniel Libeskind and built at a cost of $47.5 million, it was created in a former PG&E power station built in 1907.
Norse in 2009
Harold Norse, prolific Beat author, died in San Francisco at age 92. His books included Beat Hotel (1960), an experimental cut-up novel, and Hotel Nirvana: Selected Poems: 1953-1973 (1974).
Harold Norse (1972).
Fabian Zaragoza.
Crime in 2011
Fabian Zaragoza, age 17, of East Palo Alto was charged with the murder of a 3-month old baby and wounding the baby’s mother. He shot at their car because he thought he saw gang members who had beaten him up. But the car belonged to a family leaving a baby shower.
Government in 2011
Hercules voters recalled Mayor Joanne Ward, and City Councilman Donald Kuehne in a special election. They angered voters by arranging unethical business deals that benefited friends and added to the city’s financial crisis.
June 9
St. Patrick’s Church.
Churches in 1851
Father John McGinnis celebrated mass, marking the founding of St. Patrick’s in San Francisco. The church was built on Market St. then moved in 1872 to Eddy St., where it served as the Parish Hall for Holy Cross. The wooden building is among the oldest in the city.
Overland Journeys in 1909
Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old New Jersey housewife and mother, was the first woman to drive across the US. With three female companions, none of whom knew how to drive, they piloted a Maxwell automobile 3,800 miles, leaving New York on June 9 and reaching San Francisco on August 7.
Charles E. Kingsford-Smith’s Southern Cross (1928).
Flight in 1928
Charles Kingsford Smith completed the first trans-Pacific flight to Australia in a monoplane named the Southern Cross. He and his crew flew from Oakland to Hawaii to Fiji to Brisbane.
Movies in 1934
Donald Duck made his debut dancing to the Sailor’s Hornpipe in “The Wise Little Hen.”
Movies in 1941
Production began on “The Maltese Falcon,” filmed in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It starred Humphrey Bogart as detective Sam Spade. It is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
Rosen in 1948
Nathaniel Rosen, cellist, was born in Altadena. He began training at age 6. He won international competitions, has performed around the world and currently lives in Japan.
San Francisco Giants logo.
Sports in 1963
Because of excessive heat during the day, the Houston Colt .45s played the San Francisco Giants in the first Sunday night game in major league history. San Francisco lost their seventh straight game, 3-0.
Music in 1967
Ike & Tina Turner opened for The Monkees at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Monkees.
Sports in 1980
The San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies ended their game in Philadelphia at 3:11 AM. After four rain delays and only 200 fans remained.
Accidents in 1980
Richard Pryor, stand up comedian and actor, suffered near fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley home when a mixture of “free-base” cocaine exploded.
Parks in 1984
Donald Duck marched down Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. in a shower of ticker tape to celebrate his 50th birthday.
Los Angeles Lakers.
Sports in 1985
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the 39th NBA Championship, 4-2. After the previous season’s defeat by the Celtics in the finals, the Lakers won their eighth NBA championship.
Magnin in 1988
Cyril Magnin, enormously successful businessman, political power broker and philanthropist, died in San Francisco at age 88. He was referred to as a “merchant prince.”
California state flag
Government in 1997
Governor Pete Wilson’s salary was raised to $131,040. That made him the highest paid governor in the U.S..
Education in 2009
San Francisco School Board voted 4:3 to allow the JROTC program to satisfy PE requirements. That restored the program after a 2006 effort to eliminate it.
George Torres.
Crime in 2009
George Torres, Arcadia grocery store chain founder, was released on $1 million bond. A judge tossed out racketeering and conspiracy charges regarding orders for killing a rival. But Torres remained convicted of 53 lesser charges.
Environment in 2011
California officials reported that giant Central Valley water pumps killed 6 million young splittail fish last month and tens of thousands of imperiled chinook salmon since October.
Crime in 2011
Yusuf Bey, 25-year-old former head of Your Black Muslim Bakery, was found guilty of three counts of murder for ordering the killing of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey and two other men in 2007. Bey had wanted Bailey dead to stop his investigation into the bakery’s finances and owner’s business practices.
Yusuf Bey.
June 10
Crime in 1851
The First Committee of Vigilance was formed in response to lawlessness in Gold Rush San Francisco. They hanged John Jenkins of Sydney, Australia after convicting him of stealing a safe. Next they hung an outlaw named Stuart. The Australia ex-cons belonged to an outlaw gang known as Sidney Ducks. The Committee offered a $5,000 reward for the capture of anyone found guilty of arson, and committee members patrolled the streets at night to watch for fires.
The Hanging of Stuart by the First Vigilance Committee (1851).
Fort Tejon.
Treaties in 1851
The U.S. established a treaty with the Buena Vista Tribe of Kern Lake. The tribe reserved a tract between Tejon pass and Kern River and ceded the remainder of their lands. In 1862 there were 162 Indians living on the Fort Tejon Reservation.
Transportation in 1864
Trains began running on the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento to Newcastle.
Snoop Lion
Hope Ranch in 1870
Hope Ranch was founded. Today it is a private suburb next to Santa Barbara, home to rich and famous individuals. Snoop Dogg purchased a house there in November 2006.
Crime in 1937
San Francisco police destroyed some 400 slot machines seized in the past years then dumped them into the Bay.
Sports in 1938
Hollywood Turf Club was formed in Inglewood. Jack Warner, of Warner Brothers, was chairman. Known as Hollywood Park or Betfair Hollywood Park, the track closed in 2013 but the poker room stayed open.
Television in 1939
Barney Bear, an MGM cartoon character, debuted in “The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep.” He appeared most recently in “Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure” (2013).
Government in 1947
Governor Earl Warren signed a measure giving each county authority to regulate its own air pollution. This was the first statewide air protection law in the U.S..
Music in 1966
Janis Joplin debuted with Big Brother at the Avalon Ballroom. They became mainstays in San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane.
Tracy in 1967
Spencer Tracy, legendary film actor, died in Beverly Hills at age 67. He appeared in 75 films, was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor and won two.
Music in 1967
The KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival drew some 36,000 people. The event on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County began the Summer of Love.
KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival (1967).
Protests in 1971
Federal marshals, FBI agents and special forces swarmed Alcatraz Island and removed the Native American occupiers: five women, four children and six unarmed men.
Business in 1977
The Apple II went on sale. It was one of the first commercially successful mass-produced microcomputer, originally priced at $1,298.
Apple II (1977).
L’Amour in 1988
Louis L’Amour, author, died in Los Angeles at age 80. He wrote 116 novels, was best known for Westerns but also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Bendigo Shafter by Louis L’Amour (1983).
Crime in 1991
Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe at age 11 and rescued at age 29.
Business in 1996
Intel, in Santa Clara, introduced a Pentium 200MHz processor with 0.35 micron process technology and 3.3 millions of transistors.
Intel.
Crime in 1997
Geronimo Pratt, former Black Panther, was released after 27 years behind bars, eight years in solitary confinement. Murder charges were vacated and authorities decided against retrying him. Pratt was godfather to Tupac Shakur.
Genentech.
Business in 2002
A jury fined Genentech, in South San Francisco, $300 million for violating a 1976 research partnership. The funds went to the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte.
Seal of San Francisco.
Government in 2008
San Francisco supervisors approved a $3 million fund to provide rebates for residents and businesses that install solar power systems.
Government in 2009
California’s state controller said that unless Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers quickly plugged a $24.3 billion budget gap, the state risked a financial “meltdown” within 50 days due to weak May revenues.
Business in 2013
Apple Corp., in Cupertino, said it would equip iPhones with a “kill switch” to render them useless if stolen.
Fires in 2013
The Powerhouse Fire was contained after burning parts of Northern Los Angeles County, mostly in the Angeles National Forest, starting on May 30, 2013. The cause is unknown.
Powerhouse Fire (2013).
June 11
Missions in 1797
Padre Fermín Lasuén dedicated Mission San Jose de Guadalupe, the 14th mission in Alta California. The first baptism was September 2, 1797, when Gilpae from the Palos Colorados, probably the San Leandro area, was baptized.
Mining in 1859
The Comstock silver lode was discovered near Virginia City, Nevada. Horse-drawn wagons hauled the ore over Donner Pass to San Francisco. Four men, who made enormous fortunes, became known as the “Bonanza Kings” or “Silver Kings” of the Comstock.
Mining on the Comstock.
Meiggs’ Wharf.
Accidents in 1864
Three hundred feet of Meiggs’ Wharf washed away in storm. It had reached some 1,800 feet from the North Beach shoreline into San Francisco Bay.
Environment in 1877
Temperature in Los Angeles reached 112°F. It would be a record there but official recording did not begin until 20 days later. Los Angeles was that hot again on June 26, 1990.
Los Angeles drawn originally by E.S. Glover (1877).
Government in 1903
San Francisco Board of Supervisors enacted the Police Code forbidding people under 21 from gathering between 8 p.m. and daylight. In 1962 a judge ruled that unconstitutional.
San Francisco (1903).
Masks from the Alcatraz escape (1962).
Crime in 1962
Three convicts used spoons to dig their way out of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. FBI investigator could not to decide if they escaped successfully or drown in the Bay.
Radio in 1972
KRE celebrated its 50th anniversary. When KPAT was allowed to return to its original 3-letter call sign, “Radio Eastbay” returned in Berkeley.
KRE.
Movies in 1982
“ET the Extra-Terrestrial” debuted and became the highest grossing film at that time. It was filmed partly in Los Angeles, Culver City, Redwood National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains.
Don Genalo.
Sports in 1983
Don Genalo lost the Southern California Open bowling tournament. He needed 3 pins to win but miscalculated his score, believed he had already lost and intentionally guttered his ball.
Movies in 1993
“Jurassic Park,” filmed partly in Tehachapi Pass and the Mojave Desert, debuted. It set a box office weekend record of $502 million.
Jack Hannah.
Hannah in 1994
Jack Hannah, animator, died in Burbank at age 81. He co-founded the Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts and was honored as a “Disney Legend” in 1992.
Kelley in 1999
DeForest Kelley, actor, screenwriter, poet and singer, died in Woodland Hills, at age 79. He was best know for playing Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy on Star Trek (1966-1969).
Quincy Troupe.
Literature in 2002
Quincy Troupe, age 62, creative writing professor at U.C. San Diego, was named California state poet laureate. He resigned after admitting he lied about graduating from college.
Business in 2007
Yahoo Inc., in Sunnyvale, said China should not punish people for expressing political views on the Internet. The mother of a Chinese reporter announced she was suing Yahoo for helping officials imprison her son.
Powers in 2007
Mala Powers, actress and acting teacher, died in Burbank at age 75. Her films included “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1950) and “Outrage” (1950).
Sports in 2012
The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils to win the NHL’s Stanley Cup, 6-1. It was the Kings first NHL championship after 45 years.
Nuestra Familia tattoo.
Crime in 2013
A Santa Clara County jury indicted 48 Nuestra Familia gang members on charges that included murder. The defendants were 38 men and 10 women from San Jose and Gilroy.
Business in 2013
Google, in Mountain View, announced purchase of Waze, the Israeli creator of a traffic and navigation app for smartphones.
Google.
June 12
Missions in 1787
The first marriage of a presidio soldier took place at Mission Santa Barbara. Hilario Gimenez, a member of the guard, took Indian neophyte Juana Maria as his wife.
Santa Barbara Mission by Lloyd Harting (1901 – 1974)
Riverside (1876).
Post Offices in 1871
Riverside post office opened. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles, and was the birthplace of the California citrus industry.
Movies in 1939
Shooting began on “Dr. Cyclops”. It was the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor at Paramount Pictures. Four explorers summoned to Peru by the brilliant Dr. Thorkel discover a source of radium and a half-mad Thorkel who shrinks them to one-fifth their normal size when they threaten to stop his experiments.
Sports in 1959
Mike McCormick, San Francisco Giant, pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0. McCormick allowed a single in the sixth inning but rain ended the game before the inning ended, so the game officially ended after five innings.
Alinsky in 1972
Saul Alinsky, founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation, died in Carmel at age 63. He is considered the father of community organizing.
Movies in 1981
“Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” filmed partly in San Francisco and University of the Pacific, debuted. It was the first Indiana Jones film released but second in the series chronological order.
Norma Shearer.
Shearer in 1983
Norma Shearer, Hollywood star from 1925 through 1942, died in Woodland Hills at age 80. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress six times, winning for “The Divorcee” (1930).
Parks in 1984
Huntington Falls at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park was turned back on after being rebuilt for $846,000. The 1893 falls had collapsed in 1962 and were turned off for 22 years.
Huntington Falls at Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park.
Crime in 1994
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered outside her home in Los Angeles. O.J. Simpson was later acquitted of murder but held liable in a wrongful death civil suit.
Environment in 1996
Hinkley, in the Mojave Desert, won a $333 million settlement from PG&E for leakage of chromium 6 from storage tanks into the groundwater.
Sports in 2002
The Los Angeles Lakers shut out the New Jersey Nets for the NBA championship, 4-0. Shaquille O’Neal, MVP, averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the series. It was the franchise’s 14th NBA championship.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal (2002).
Seal of San Francisco.
Government in 2006
San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren struck down a voter approved ban on handgun possession. Proposition H outlawed handgun possession by all city residents except law enforcement and others who need guns for professional reasons.
Business in 2007
A report on CEO pay said Terry Semel of Yahoo, in Sunnyvale, topped the list with $71.7 million.
Terry Semel.
Herbert in 2007
Don Herbert, television’s “Mr. Wizard,” died in Bell Canyon at age 89. He introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of science from 1951 to 1990.
Oscar Grant.
Protests in 2011
Some 300 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration near Oakland city hall. They were outraged that Johannes Mehserle, a white former BART police officer, was about to be released from prison. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black passenger (2009).
Ziskin in 2011
Laura Ziskin. Hollywood producer, died in Santa Monica at age 61. Among her movies were “Pretty Woman” (1990), “Fight Club” (1999) and the “Spider Man” series (2002-2014).