December 4
Sebastian Vizcaino drawn by Barron Park School students
Exploration in 1602
Sebastián Vizcaino named the Santa Barbara Channel. He had explored New Spain, the Philippines, Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan and was searching for safe harbors for Spanish galleons returning from the Philippines.
Missions in 1786
Father Fermín de Lasuén founded Mission Santa Barbara, the 10th of 21 Franciscan missions in California. It has been called the “Queen of the Missions.”
Santa Barbara Mission by Lloyd Harting (1901 – 1974)
Carrying hides to a longboat. Illustration from Two Years Before the Mast (1911)
Dana in 1835
Richard Henry Dana reached San Francisco Bay. The Harvard student shipped out from Boston and described his adventures in Alta California in Two Years Before the Mast (1840).
Newspapers in 1881
The Los Angeles Times first appeared as the Los Angeles Daily Times. It became the largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the U.S. (2008).
Los Angeles Times 1881
Fairs in 1915
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition closed in San Francisco. It celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and the city’s revival after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.
Movies in 1923
Cecil B. DeMille’s “Ten Commandments” premiered. He helped make Hollywood the center of the film industry.
Government in 1941
The newly proposed state of Jefferson elected John Childs as the first governor of the breakaway territory that separated from California and Oregon.
Proposed state of Jefferson.
Masanori Murakami (1965).
Sports in 1965
Masanori Murakami, San Francisco Giants pitcher, returned to Japan with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka. He struck out over one batter per inning, posted an ERA under 4 and eight saves. Murakami was the first Japanese player on a Major League Baseball team.
Music in 1965
The Grateful Dead played their first show under the name Grateful Dead at Ken Kesey’s Acid Test in San Jose.
Government in 1978
Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco’s first female mayor following George Moscone’s assassination.
Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Jeremiah O’Brien.
Ships in 1979
The Jeremiah O’Brien Liberty ship reached dry dock in San Francisco. She had been part of the 6,939-ship armada that stormed Normandy on D-Day in World War II. Today she is a floating museum at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Zappa in 1993
Frank Zappa, musician, bandleader, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer and film director, died in Los Angeles at age 52. He is best known as leader of The Mothers of Invention. Rolling Stone ranked him among the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” (2004), and “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” (2011).
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
Sports in 2003
Barry Bonds, San Francisco homerun star, told a grand jury he used a clear substance and a cream supplied by BALCO, but never thought they were steroids.
Pimp C in 2007
Pimp C, born Chad Butler, was found dead in Los Angeles at age 33. He told tales of Texas street life in Southern hip-hop and co-founded Underground Kingz.
Government in 2012
San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in a meeting at which protesters stripped naked, banned public nudity in the city.
Environment in 2012
The Truckee Donner Land Trust and Trust for Public Land bought Webber Lake and Lacey Meadows at the headwaters of the Little Truckee River for $8 million. That saved some 3,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada from logging.
Webber Lake and Lacey Meadows.
December 5
Margaret and Patrick Breen
Overland journeys in 1846
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Fine, clear day. Beautiful sunshine. Thawing a little. Looks delightful after the long snow storm.”
Gold Rush in 1848
President Polk reported the discovery of gold in California to Congress.
California gold diggers (circa 1850).
Business in 1935
The first commercial hydroponics operation was established in Montebello.
Sports in 1971
Willie Ellison, Los Angeles Rams running back rushed 26 times for 247 yards against the New Orleans Saints, setting a NFL record.
Sports in 1983
Steve Howe, Los Angeles Dodgers, was suspended for a year for failing a drug test.
Yahoo!
Business in 2003
Yahoo Inc., in Sunnyvale, announced development of a technology to combat e-mail spam by changing the way the Internet works to require authentication of a message’s sender.
Business in 2005
Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, announced an investment over $1 billion to expand operations in technology companies in California and India.
Intel logo (1968-2005).
Imbrie in 2007
Andrew Imbrie, composer and teacher, died in Berkeley at age 86. His is wrote “Angle of Repose,” commissioned and premiered by the San Francisco Opera (1976).
Science in 2011
U.C. Berkeley astronomers reported finding two black holes, each 10 billion times the mass of our sun, in galaxies more than 300 million light years away.
Science in 2011
Angela Zhang, a Cupertino student, won a $100,000 scholarship at the Siemens Foundation’s annual high school science competition. She created a tiny particle like a “Swiss army knife of cancer treatments,” because of its precision in targeting cancer tumors.
Angela Zhang (2011).
December 6
War in 1846
A band of Californios and mounted lancers led by Major Pico defeated American forces commanded by General Kearny in the Battle of San Pascual, the bloodiest battle on California soil. Today the site is San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park, east of Escondido.
Battle of San Pasqual
Margaret and Patrick Breen
Overland journeys in 1846
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “The morning fine & clear. Now some cloudy. Wind S.E. Not much in the sunshine. Stanton & Graves manufacturing snow shoes for another mountain scrabble. No account of mules.”
Inventions in 1887
Harriet Russell Strong, of Whittier history, was known as the “Walnut Queen” and the “Pampas Woman.” She held five patents, included a water irrigation system design.
Libraries in 1895
Berkeley Public Library was founded. Today, in addition to lending books, people can borrow from a tool collection.
Berkeley Main Public Library
Crime in 1921
James Showan was arrested when his yacht was seized off the California coast with more than 100 cases of illegal whiskey.
Dams in 1931
The U.S. Senate approved Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park. It became the main water source for San Francisco and other Bay Area communities.
Study for The Hetch Hetchy by Albert Bierstadt. Collection Mr. and Mrs. E.E. White, Mamaroneck, New York.
San Francisco slum (1935).
Public health in 1935
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that there were more rats than people in the city by a factor of 3 to 1.
War in 1942
James Ito, age 17, and Katsuji James Kanegawa, age 21, were killed in a protest at Manzaniar Detention Camp. They were among seven Nikkei (people of Japanese ancestry) shot to death at U.S. internment centers during World War Two.
A hot windstorm brings dust to Manzanar from the surrounding desert July 3, 1942. Photograph by Dorothea Lange.
California Angels cap logo.
Sports in 1960
The American League granted Gene Autry a baseball team franchise for the Los Angeles Angels.
Music in 1969
The Rolling Stones performed at Altamont Speedway in Livermore. Some 300,000 people attended. Hells Angels, hired for security, beat to death Meredith Hunter during the show. Another person drowned in a nearby canal and two were killed by a runaway car.
James “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno.
Crime in 1977
San Francisco FBI agents arrested James “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno, reportedly a leading West Coast Mafia figure.
Bridges in 1983
The Golden Gate Bridge closed for the second December in a row as winds at the San Francisco toll plaza measured 77.2 mph.
Crime in 1985
The San Francisco Chronicle described a “super cocaine,” known on the streets as crack, rock or base. It was first known in New York City.
Crack cocaine.
Sports in 1992
Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, caught his 101st touchdown, a NFL record.
Sports in 1992
Barry Bonds signed a $43 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, making him the highest paid player in baseball.
Business in 1994
Orange County filed for bankruptcy protection due to some $2 billion investment losses, the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Orange County.
Winona Rider.
Crime in 2002
Winona Ryder, actress, was sentenced to community service for stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from a Beverly Hills store.
Business in 2010
Google, in Mountain View, announced the Nexus S smartphone with support for Near Field Communication. It let people use their phone like a credit card.
Google.
Fiji Water.
Business in 2010
Fiji Water, owned by Stewart Resnick of Beverly Hills, announced plans to purchase Justin Vineyards and Winery in Paso Robles.
Crime in 2011
BART officials said thefts of copper were impacting train traffic. Vallejo Public Works said thieves stripped $200,000 worth of copper wiring from street lights and intersection signals since May.
Protests in 2011
Occupy protesters in Oakland marched, rallied, claimed foreclosed properties, shouted down foreclosure auctions and protested outside banks.
Occupy Wall Street protesters, Oakland (2011).
Environment in 2012
A U.S. District Judge ruled that snakes, frogs and golfers can coexist at the Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica.
Sharp Park Golf Course, Pacifica.
December 7
Ranchos in 1821
Rincón de los Bueyes rancho was deeded. This 3,127-acre Spanish land grant in present day Los Angeles County covered today’s Cheviot Hills, Rancho Park, the northeast extension of Culver City and part of Baldwin Hills.
Rancho diseno
Yerba Buena in 1834
Francisco De Haro, Yerba Buena’s first alcade, helped plan the street grid and first survey of the town.
Yerba Buena (circa 1840)
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Government in 1836
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo became governor of Mexican California. Born and raised in Monterey, he fought for independence from Spain in 1824 and against U.S. forces in the Mexican War. His home in Monterey is a California Historical Landmark.
Libraries in 1872
Los Angeles Public Library was founded. Today, it is among the greatest U.S. libraries.
Post Offices in 1876
A U.S. post office opened at Occidental, a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad from Cazadero to Sausalito. In exchange for right-of-way, the railroad gave “Dutch Bill” Howards a lifetime pass and named the station after him.
Occidental, California
Radio in 1921
KWG-AM in Stockton began radio transmissions. It is one of the oldest broadcasting stations in the U.S.
Waits in 1949
Tom Waits, singer-songwriter, composer and actor, was born in Pomona. A critic said his voice sounds “like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car.”
Taizan Maezumi Roshi.
Roshi in 1970
Taizan Maezumi Roshi, head of the Los Angeles Zen Center, received dharma. He greatly influenced American Zen practice.
Business in 1979
Gannet Co. Inc. bought the San Rafael Independent Journal, adding to their chain of 78 daily papers in 30 states.
Gannett Co. Inc.
Haas in 1979
Walter A. Haas Sr., former head of Levi Strauss, died in San Francisco at age 90. His philanthropy supports many Bay Area cultural institutions.
David Burke.
Accidents in 1987
A Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner crashed near Paso Robles killing all 43 people aboard after David Burke, a former employee, shot a passenger and both pilots.
Science in 2009
Stanford University scientists in Palo Alto reported turning paper coated with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials into a “paper battery” for new types of lightweight, high-performance energy storage.
Flight in 2009
Virgin Galactic unveiled its first commercial spaceship at the Mohave Air and Space Port. Trips aboard the VSS Enterprise to the edge of space were expected to cost $200,000 per person.
VSS Enterprise.
Rick Hendricks tribute show.
Hendricks in 2009
Rick Hendricks, San Francisco composer and steel guitar player, died at home while musicians and friends assembled at the Amnesia club in San Francisco.
Labor in 2010
Filipino hospital workers sued Delano Regional Medical Center, alleging they were the sole ethnic group targeted by a rule requiring them to speak only English.
Protests in 2011
San Francisco police cleared the Occupy encampment in an early morning raid. When demonstrators returned that evening, six people were arrested. Police pulled back when people refused to leave Justin Herman Plaza.
A protester from the Occupy San Francisco movement is arrested by police after the group took over a Bank of America branch in San Francisco (2011).
December 8
Missions in 1787
Father Lasuen dedicated Mission La Purisima Concepcion near present day Lompoc. By 1803, the mission owned 3,230 cattle, 5,400 sheep, 306 horses, and 39 mules. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812 and rebuilt at its present site several miles to the north west.
Ruins of the first La Purísima Concepción Mission
Earthquakes in 1812
The Wrightwood or San Juan Capistrano earthquake destroyed Mission San Juan Capistrano. It was probably a rupture of the southern San Andreas Fault.
Mission San Juan Capistrano. Photographed by Carlton Watkins (circa 1877) Courtesy of the Society of California Pioneers.
Pirates in 1818
Hypolite Bouchard and his 400 pirates threatened to attack Santa Barbara after burning Monterey and raiding Nuestra Senora del Refugio rancho. Three pirates were captured at Refugio. Bouchard promised to pillage Santa Barbara if his men were not returned. They were.
Hypolite Bouchard.
Margaret and Patrick Breen
Overland Journeys in 1846
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Fine weather; Clear & pleasant. Froze hard last night. Wind S.E. Deep snow. The people not stirring round much. Hard work to wood sufficient to keep us warm & cook our beef.”
Jesuits in 1854
Fr. Nicolas Congiato arrived in San Francisco to serve as the superior of the Jesuit mission in California. He became the second president of St. Ignatius College.
Jesuits in 1910
Jesuits of St. Ignatius broke ground on a new church in San Francisco at the site of the old Masonic Cemetery Association.
San Francisco Symphony
Music in 1911
The San Francisco Orchestra, later known as the San Francisco Symphony, debuted before some 1400 people.
Fairs in 1913
Construction began on the Palace of Fine Arts to showcase art presented at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It is one of few surviving structures from the Exposition and the only one on its original site.
Liu Fook.
Crime in 1930
Rosetta Baker, a wealthy divorcee, was found strangled in her San Francisco apartment at the age of 69. Liu Fook, her butler and an opium addict, was suspected but found innocent at trial.
Crime in 1937
Five inmates were sentenced to death at San Quentin for the Folsom Prison break in September that cost Warden Clarence Larkin his life.
Environment in 1938
Temperature in La Mesa reached 108°. It set a December record for highest temperature this month in the U.S.
La Mesa.
Japan Attack U.S.! (1941).
War in 1941
San Francisco held its first air raid and blackout at 6:15 p.m. during which people reported hearing Japanese attack planes. A master power switch at the Presidio accidentally shut off and harbor defenses were plunged into darkness.
Sports in 1960
The Los Angeles Angels, an expansion team, signed a 4-year lease to use Dodger Stadium.
Dodger Stadium.
Sports in 1967
The California Seals, the state’s first professional hockey team, changed its name to the Oakland Seals.
Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.
Black Panthers in 1969
Four hundred Los Angeles Police raided the Black Panthers headquarters, arresting adults and children. During a shoot-out, Roland Freeman, founding member of the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was shot but survived.
Flight in 1983
The ninth Space Shuttle Mission, Columbia 6, landed at Edwards Air Force Base.
Space Shuttle Columbia landing at Edwards AFB (1982).
Jerry Garcia.
Music in 1995
Four months after the death of founder Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead announced it was breaking up following 30 years of performing music.
Accidents in 1998
An electrician’s mistake in San Mateo caused a power outage along the northern San Francisco Bay Area peninsula that lasted more than seven hours before electricity was fully restored.
Homeless in 2005
Project Homeless Connect, a one-day homeless aid fair that began in San Francisco (2004), went national with services given to some 6,000 people in 21 U.S. cities.
Project Homeless Connect.
this week in california history
Sports in 2006
Jose Uribe, former San Francisco Giants shortstop, died in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic.
Accidents in 2008
The F/A-18D Hornet crashed into a San Diego street about two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The pilot was returning from a training flight. A mother, two children and a grandmother were killed in one home and two other buildings were destroyed.
Flight in 2010
SpaceX became the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft with its second launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 and first launch of the SpaceX Dragon.
SpaceX Falcon 9.
Hector Celaya.
Crime in 2012
Hector Celaya, of the Tule River Indian Reservation, went on a shooting rampage in Porterville, killing his mother, two uncles and his daughter. The suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot in a shootout with police.
Crime in 2011
Tyler Brehm was shot and killed in Los Angeles after walking down the middle of Sunset Boulevard firing on motorists. John Atterberry, music executive, died from wounds suffered in Brehm’s shooting.
December 9
Monterey Bay.
Exploration in 1595
Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeño, Portuguese explorer for the Spanish king, reached Monterey Bay. He searched the California coast for safe harbors for Spanish galleons returning to Mexico from the Philippines.
Overland Journeys in 1846
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Commenced snowing about 11 o’clock. Wind N.W. Snows fast. Took in Spitzer yesterday; [he is] so weak that he cannot rise without help, caused by starveation. All in good health. Some having scant supply of beef. Stanton trying to make a raise of some for his Indians & self. Not likely to get much.”
James Marshall standing in front of Sutter’s Mill.
Gold Rush in 1848
The New York Daily Tribune first published news of the gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill.
Business in 1941
Bank of America opened a new headquarters in San Francisco.
Bank of America.
Business in 1968
Douglas Engelbart, Internet pioneer at Stanford Research Institute, demonstrated the computer mouse, hypertext and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS). That became known as “The Mother of All Demos.”
Douglas Engelbart and the first computer mouse.
Sea Knight helicopter.
Accidents in 1999
A CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed while ferrying troops between ships off Point Loma, killing seven Marines.
San Francisco in 2008
Gavin Newsom, San Francisco mayor, announced $71 million in cuts to the city’s budget, eliminating jobs of nearly 400 people.
Business in 2010
Bank of America agreed to pay $137 million to settle federal and California state bid-rigging and kickback charges related to municipal bond contracts dating back to 1998.
Bank of America.
Moody in 2010
James Moody, jazz musician, died in San Diego at age 85. His recorded more than 50 albums.
December 10
Exploration in 1827
Jedediah Smith, hunter, fur trader and explorer who charted the first overland routes to California, was told to leave Alta California by Mexican authorities.
Jedediah Smith crossing the Mojave by Frederick Remington
Margaret and Patrick Breen
Overland journeys in 1846
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Snowed fast all night with heavy squalls of wind. Continues still to snow. The sun peeping through the clouds once in about three hours. Very difficult to get wood today. Now, about 2 o’clock, looks likely to continue snowing. Don’t know the depth of the snow; may be 7 feet.”
Flight in 1911
Calbraith Perry Rogers crashed again. He flew the first transcontinental airplane flight, taking 52 days with dozens of intentional and accidental stops. He died a few months later in a crash at an exhibition over Long Beach.
Caithbridge Perry Rodgers
Ruth Rowland Nichols.
Flight in 1930
Ruth Nichols set a women’s record for coast to coast flight; from Los Angeles to New York in 13 hours 22 minutes. She beat her own record – 16 hours, 59 minutes and 30 seconds – set in November on her flight west.
Flight in 1941
A Pan American Airways Clipper plane landed at the San Francisco Treasure Island seaplane harbor with bullet holes from Japanese guns at Wake Island on December 7.
Crime in 1960
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that illegal alcohol, known as bok chow, was being made in Chinatown. Ingredients included an Asian fertilizer with a pickled chicken, bear claws, monkey paws, lizard or snake and spices. One raid netted 22 gallons.
Nobel Prize Medal.
Awards in 1972
Kenneth Arrow, of Stanford University, shared the Nobel Prize in economics with John Hicks of Oxford, England.
Wood in 1978
Ed Wood, film director, died in North Hollywood at age 53. His films included “Plan 9 From Outer Space” (1959). He was famous for making bad movies.
Nobel Prize Medal.
Awards in 1980
Czeslaw Milosz, U.C. Berkeley professor, poet, prose writer, translator and diplomat born in Lithuania, received the Nobel Prize in literature. Miłosz is honoured at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, as one of the “Righteous among the Nations”.
Gosden in 1982
Freeman Gosden, actor, died in Los Angeles at age 83. He was best known as the white actor who played Amos in the “Amos ‘n’ Andy” radio shows from 1928 to 1960.
Golden State Transportation.
Crime in 2001
Federal authorities charged Golden State Transportation, a Los Angeles-based bus company, with illegally transporting thousands of undocumented immigrants from near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sports in 2005
Reggie Bush, University of Southern California running back, won the Heisman Trophy.
Pryor in 2005
Richard Pryor, comedian, actor, film director, social critic, satirist, writer and MC, died in Encino at age 65. He is best known for “Silver Streak” (1976), “Stir Crazy” (1980) and “Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip” (1982). Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973) and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982).
John Perez.
Government in 2009
The California Democratic Caucus selected John Perez, an openly gay Latino from Los Angeles as their leader.
Protests in 2009
San Francisco police arrested 25 protesters a day after students barricaded themselves inside the business school of San Francisco State University to protest fee hikes and budget cuts at the state’s public universities.
San Francisco State University protest (2009).
Transportation in 2009
BART directors approved a 3.2 mile extension to the Oakland Airport. $440 million in contracts were approved with a target completion date of 2013.
BART map.
Google.
Business in 2012
Google, in Mountain View, began selling basic laptop computers to schools at a price of $99.
December 11
Environment in 1932
San Francisco recorded a temperature of 27°F, its coldest day ever and it snowed.
Snow in San Francisco (1887)
War in 1941
Western Defense Command declared San Francisco and the West Coast a wartime “Western Theatre of Operations.” No private vessels were allowed to sail at night in the San Francisco Bay.
Sports in 1947
The Pacific Coast League application for a change from minor league to major league status was rejected.
Pacific Coast League (1950s).
Stanford University.
Science in 1952
Stanford scientists demonstrated the new $1,750,000 linear electron accelerator. Its 200-foot barrel fired electrons at 99.99% the speed of light.
Business in 1962
The L’Italia building in San Francisco was demolished. It housed the largest Italian language newspaper outside of New York, La Voce Popolo, founded in 1868.
La Voce Popolo.
Cooke in 1965
Sam Cooke, soulful singer-songwriter, was shot to death by a motel manager in Los Angeles. He is remembered for “You Send Me” (1957), “Wonderful World” (1960) and “Cupid” (1961).
Television in 1968
KECC-TV, now KECY, began broadcasting, the third station in the El Centro market.
Movies in 1970
Walt Disney Productions released “Aristocats.” It was the 20th feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the last film approved by Walt Disney, himself.
Bank of America.
Business in 2002
Bank of America, in San Francisco, agreed to pay $1.6 billion for a 25% stake in Grupo Financiero Santander Serfin, one of Mexico’s largest banks.
Sports in 2004
Matt Leinart, University of Southern California quarterback, won the 70th Heisman Trophy.
Matt Leinart.
Business in 2005
Paramount Pictures, in Los Angeles, announced it was buying independent film studio DreamWorks, in Los Angeles. The deal was valued at approximately $1.6 billion.
DreamWorks.
Environment in 2008
California’s air quality board approved the nation’s most sweeping plan to reduce global warming by curbing emissions.
California air basin map.
Bettie Page.
Page in 2008
Bettie Page, the “Queen of Pinups,” died in Los Angeles at age 85. Her controversial photographs helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution.
Shankar in 2012
Ravi Shankar, India-born sitar virtuoso, died in San Diego at age 92. He is best known for performing with The Beatles.