Ranchos in 1838
Rancho La Carbonera, a Mexican land grant was deeded. It covered 2,225 acres between the San Lorenzo River and Branciforte Creek in today’s Santa Cruz County. The name means “coal mine.” 

Overland trail in 1847
People in San Francisco called a meeting to organize a rescue of the Donner Party. The first rescuers included James Reed, whose wife and daughter were trapped in the Sierras.  

Post offices in 1853
A U.S. post office opened in Woodland, originally called Yolo City. Today it is part of the Sacramento – Arden – Arcade – Roseville metropolitan area.

Newspapers in 1857
The Bee, a Sacramento newspaper, debuted. It has been the the region’s leading newspaper for more than 150 years. 

Clubs in 1903 
Edward F. Adams, San Francisco Chronicle editorial writer, founded the San Francisco Commonwealth Club as a forum for discussing disputed questions. For over 100 years, it has hosted conversations with world leaders in politics, science and the humanities.

State symbols in 1911
The bear flag became the California state flag. The original flag was made in Sonoma for the 1846 revolt. It was lead by John Frémont to free Alta California from Mexico before the Mexican American War. 

Transportation in 1918
Twin Peaks Tunnel opened in San Francisco. At 2.27 miles long, it is among the longest streetcar tunnels in the world. 

Movies in 1945 
Walt Disney Productions, in Burbank, released “The Three Caballeros,” a Latin American musical adventure combining live-action with animation.

Sports in 1960        
Candlestick Park, the new home of the San Francisco Giants, was officially turned over to the team.

 

 

Music in 1968
Country Joe and the Fish, Berkeley-based psychedelic rock band known for musical protests against the Vietnam War, released “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag.” 

Science in 1984
John Edmond Buster, at UCLA School Medical Center, performed the first embryo transfer from one woman to another, producing a live birth.

Oppenheimer in 1985        
Frank Oppenheimer, physicist and educator, died in Sausalito at age 73. He worked on the Manhattan Project, was politically targeted by McCarthyism and later began the Exploratorium, an interactive science museum in San Francisco.

Sports in 1987        
The San Diego Yacht Club celebrated the victory of skipper Dennis Conner and the Stars and Stripes over Australia, sweeping the America’s Cup series. 

Duncan in 1988        
Robert Duncan, visionary poet, died. He and his partner Jess Collins, co-founded San Francisco’s King Ubu Gallery in 1953, which later became a place for Beatnik poetry readings. 

Cassavetes in 1989        
John Cassavetes, actor and director, died in Los Angeles at age 60. His films included “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974), “Gloria” (1980) and “Love Streams” (1984).

Kulp in 1991       
Nancy Kulp, actress, died in Palm Desert at age 70. She played Miss Jane Hathaway in “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962-1971). 

Meadows in 1996        
Audrey Meadows, actress, died in Los Angeles at the age of 71. She played Alice Kramden on the 1950s television comedy “The Honeymooners”.

Environment in 1998        
Heavy rain continued to thrash the state and Northern California rivers flooded over their banks.

Crime in 2003      
Phil Spector, legendary rock-n-roll producer, was arrested in Los Angeles for murder after Lana Clarkson was found dead in his mansion. 

Government in 2006        
PG&E agreed to pay $295 million to settle lawsuits over drinking wells polluted with the toxic chemical chromium.

Liderman in 2008  
Jorge Liderman, age 50, a composer and professor at U.C. Berkeley, was struck and killed by a BART train at the El Cerrito station in a suspected suicide.

Crime in 2012        
Thieves stole 225 bronze vases from Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma. Some 300 more were stolen from another part of the cemetery on February 18. The vases were valued at over $85,000.

Accidents in 2013        
A tour bus crashed into other vehicles on Hwy. 38 in San Bernadino County, killing seven people.

February 4

Latter-Day Saints in 1846
The Brooklyn sailed from New York for San Francisco with 238 members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. The ship was outfitted with a  table as long as the ship for schooling, dining, council meetings, work, recreation, singing and Sabbath services.

Overland Trail in 1850
Thirty-six Kansas men took the names of powerful birds for their wagon train.  The Jayhawkers survived cattle stampedes, outlaws, Indian attacks, cholera and quicksand. They were lost for three months and discovered Death Valley before 32 men reached Rancho San Francisquito near today’s Castaic Junction. 

Sports in 1851
The first baseball game was played in San Francisco.

Inventions in 1890
Ada Van Pelt of Oakland patented a combination lock. “The invention has relation to permutation locks designed for use on post-office lock boxes, doors, jewel-cases, 850.; and it consists in the combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the claims.” 

Race relations in 1909        
California law segregated Japanese and Caucasian school children. 

Accidents in 1912        
Two horses were killed in San Francisco when a truck loaded with 45 tons of copper cable broke free on the Steiner Street hill. Fifty horses were pulling the truck with four horses guiding them when the cable broke.

Post offices in 1934
A U.S. post office opened in Hobo Hot Springs, an unincorporated Kern County community. The town was called Clear Creek Hot Springs in the early 1900s but re-named Hobo Hot Springs when the post office opened. It’s been called Miracle Springs since 1947,

Environment in 1937
The Santa Ana River basin flooded from February 4 to February 7 when more than 8 inches of rain fell in four days. Bakersfield narrowly escaped flooding.

Movies in 1938 
Walt Disney Productions, in Burbank, released “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. It was the first full-length cel animated feature film and first in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top ten performers at the North American box office.

Crime in 1974
Patty Hearst, a 20-year-old newspaper heiress, was kidnapped in Berkeley by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was held captive and brainwashed then joined the revolutionary group.

Science in 1998       
Alfred Mann, who founded seven medical device and electronics companies, announced $100 million donations to the USC and UCLA to set up biomedical research institutes.

Public health in 2005       
Autism cases in California reportedly increased by 13% in 2004. The U.S. Department of Education reported a 1,700% increase among school children nationally from 1992 to 2002.

Prisons in 2006     
Some 2,000 inmates rioted at the Castaic North County Correctional Facility, throwing mattresses and banging heads against bunk beds. Officials said the violence in which one inmate died stemmed from racial tensions. 

Business in 2008        
Intel. in Santa Clara, announced a new chip with a record 2 billion transistors. Its new quad-core Itanium processor  operated at frequencies up to 2 gigahertz.

Crime in 2011      
Richard Northcutt, a Stockton real estate executive, pleaded guilty to rigging bids and committing mail fraud. He was the forth person to plead guilty in a federal investigation of anti-competitive practices in real estate foreclosure auctions across northern California.

February 5

Missions in 1697
The Spanish king authorized the Jesuits to establish missions in Baja and Alta California.

Environment in 1887
Snow fell in San Francisco. It also snowed on December 30, 1856, January 12, 1868, December 31, 1882, February 7, 1884 and December 11, 1932.

Movies in 1919 
Four Hollywood film stars formed United Artists in Los Angeles to produce their own movies and control their own interests instead of depending upon powerful commercial studios.

Cartoons in 1929
Jimmy Hatlo’s “They’ll Do It Every Time,” a panel cartoon, debuted in the San Francisco Call. It ran until 2008.

 

Movies in 1937 
United Artists, in Los Angeles, released Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times,” the first film with a sound track. It is considered one of the most important films in history.

Movies in 1953
Walt Disney Productions, in Burbank, released “Peter Pan”. It was the 14th of Walt Disney Animated Classics. “Return to Never Land,” a sequel, was released in 2002.

Sports in 1991
David Taylor, of the Los Angeles Kings, became the 29th National Hockey League player to score 1000 points.

Crime in 1997
O.J. Simpson was found liable in the deaths of Ron Goldman & Nicole Simpson, murdered in Brentwood, in a civil court action.

Government in 1999        
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms planned to allow California winemakers to attach new labels that promote health benefits of drinking wine.

Pranks in 2001        
Engineering students from University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada hung an old VW from a railing of the Golden Gate Bridge. It hung for four hours before officials cut and let it fall.

Business in 2003        
Circuit City eliminated some 3,900 commissioned sales jobs to reduce expenses.

February 6

Overland trail in 1847
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “It snowed faster last night & to day than it has done this winter & still Continues without an intermission. Wind S.W. Murphys folks or Keysburgs say they can’t eat hides. I wish we had enough of them. Mrs Eddy very weak.”

Inventions in 1872
Catherine Woodruff of Antioch patented a dish washing machine in 1872, improving on mechanical dishwashing hand-powered devices beginning in 1850. 

Race relations in 1885
Riots in Eureka began between two Chinese tongs (organizations). Police arrested a Chinese man and took him to jail when David Kendall, a city councilman, was accidentally killed in the gunfire. A mob threatened to lynch him and other Chinese. Instead all Chinese were given 24 hours to leave Eureka.

Crime in 1891       
The Dalton Gang, brothers Bob, Grat and Bill, committed their first train robbery. They tried but failed to rob a Southern Pacific train in Alila, near Earlimart, so returned to Oklahoma, joined with their younger brother Emmett and began a series robberies. After Emmett got out of prison, he moved to Los Angeles and went into the real estate business.

Libraries in 1912
Imperial County Free Library was founded but no funds were available until September. So the California State Library loaned them 885 books to begin service in El Centro, Brawley, Calexico and Holtville. 

Government in 1914    
The State Board of Pharmacy in San Francisco burned some $25,000 worth of opium pipes and paraphernalia along with opium, morphine and cocaine.

Movies in 1921
“The Kid,” which Charlie Chaplin wrote, produced, directed and starred in, was released. It is considered one of the greatest films in history.

Thomas in 1991        
Danny Thomas, nightclub comedian, actor and producer whose career spanned five decades, died in Los Angeles at age 79.

Cotten in 1994        
Joseph Cotten, actor, died in Los Angeles at age 88. He was one of the leading film actors of the 1940s, appearing in “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943), “Duel in the Sun” (1946) and “The Third Man” (1949). 

Government in 1998      
San Francisco Mayor Jerry Brown left for Manila to sign agreements with Mayor Alfredo Lim for workshops on AIDS, student exchange programs and celebrate 100 years of Philippine independence. 

Government in 1998     
Governor Pete Wilson declared a state of emergency in 22 counties, as El Nino storms pounded the state.

Wilson in 1998     
Carl Wilson, a founding member and occasional lead vocalist of The Beach Boys, died in Los Angeles at age 47.

Government in 2007        
The San Mateo Board of Supervisors banned smoking at 17 parks, trails and a beach managed by the county.

Laine in 2007      
Frankie Laine, pop singer, died in San Diego at age 93. His songs included “Mule Train,” (1949), “Cool Water” (1955) and the theme song for “Rawhide” (1959). 

Government in 2009        
California ordered 200,000 employees, 90% of the state work force, to take an unpaid day off to help balance the state budget.

February 7

Environment in 1884
Snow fell in San Francisco. It also snowed on December 30, 1856, January 12, 1868, December 31, 1882, February 5, 1887  and December 11, 1932.

Movies in 1914
Charlie Chaplin introduced his Little Tramp character in “Kid Auto Races at Venice.” He played a spectator at an actual baby-cart race, where he disrupted the race and upset the racers and spectators.

 

Politics in 1934        
After visiting Nazi Germany, Palo Alto novelist Kathleen Norris said Hitler had largely solved unemployment and poverty problems and was considered a hero.

Movies in 1940 
“Pinocchio,” Walt Disney’s second full-length, musical animated film debuted. It was a financial failure at first but became one of Disney’s most famous Disney films and a great animated film.

Sports in 1958 
The Brooklyn Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers. L.A.’s first MLB team won nine National League Championships and five World Series.

Water in 1969
Hetch Hetchy Dam’s Moccasin Powerhouse was discontinued after operating since 1925. But the aqueduct still pipes water to the San Francisco Bay area from the Sierras.

Accidents in 1990       
The American Trader, an oil tanker, ran over its anchor, punctured its hull and spilled some 416,598 gallons of crude oil off the coast of Huntington Beach.

 

 

Sports in 2000
Tiger Woods, won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, his sixth straight PGA Tour victory. He was the first golfer to do so since Ben Hogan in 1948.

Business in 2000       
Hackers shut the Yahoo web site down with a “denial-of-service” attack that mimicked millions of phantom users.

Henning in 2000  
Doug Henning, magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician, died in Los Angeles at age 52. More than 50 million viewers watched “Doug Henning’s World of Magic” hosted by Bill Cosby (1975).

Evans in 2001       
Dale Evans, actress, singer and wife of Roy Rogers, died in Apple Valley at age 88. Her songs included “Happy Trails” and “The Bible Tells Me So”.

Politics in 2006       
Chris Daly, San Francisco Supervisor, called for impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Government in 2007       
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom met with Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus. President Adamkus and a Lithuanian business delegation were seeking U.S. trade opportunities and potential investors.

Crime in 2008       
A Los Angeles man told police he killed three relatives. He barricaded himself in a house and fired on a SWAT team, killing one officer and wounding another. Randall Simmons, age 51, was the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty in the unit’s 41-year history.

Crime in 2010       
Jessy Wiley, age 21, died in a fight at Little Caesars Pizza in Daly City. Three Norteno gang members were convicted in relation to his death.

Government in 2012        
The 9th Circuit Court in California struck down the ban on gay marriage passed by voters, ruling it violated the constitutional rights of gay Californians. 

Crime in 2013        
Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez, her 71-year-old mother, were delivering newspapers when LAPD officers shot some 100 rounds at their truck by mistake. The city of Los Angeles reached a $4.2 million settlement with them.

February 8

Movies in 1915 
“The Birth of a Nation,” D.W. Griffith’s controversial film, premiered in Los Angeles. Although racist, its film techniques make it important.

Business in 1926 
Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio changed its name to Walt Disney Studios when they moved into the new studio in the Los Angeles Silver Lake district.

Literature in 1954 
Caryl Chessman’s autobiography was accepted for publication while he was on death row at San Quentin Prison. It was titled Cell 2455, Death Row. Convicted of kidnapping and rape, he was executed on May 2, 1960.

Libraries in 1957 
San Francisco Public Library’s bookmobile, Traveling Branch, began service.

Earthquakes in 1977 
A 5.0 earthquake struck San Francisco, the strongest since 1966.

Sports in 1986 
Brian Boitano, born in Mountain View, won the U.S. male Figure Skating championship. He won an Olympic gold medal for figure skating (1988).

Business in 2000 
Computer hackers shut down eBay, in San Jose, and other large Internet companies with denial of service attacks.

 

Amusement parks in 2001 
Disney’s California Adventure opened as a new attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim.

Crime in 2010  
A federal judge in California sentenced Dongfan Chung, a Chinese-born engineer, to over 15 years in prison for economic espionage. He stole information about the space shuttle and a booster rocket and passed information to China.

February 9

Overland trail in 1847
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Mrs Murphy here this morning. Pike’s child all but dead. Milt at Murphy’s; not able to get out of bed. Keyburg never gets up; says he is not able. John [Breen, Patrick’ son] went down to day to bury Mrs Eddy & child. Heard nothing from Graves for 2 or 3 days. Mrs Murphy just now going to Graves. Fine morning. Wind S.E. Froze hard last night. Begins to thaw in the Sun.” Milt Elliot died that night. 

Post offices in 1852
A U.S. post office opened in Petaluma, an early agricultural center that provided eggs and other foods to Gold Rush San Francisco.

Agriculture in 1891 
The first commercial shipment of asparagus arrived in San Francisco from Sacramento. Many of the farmers were Chinese and Filipino. 

Restaurants in 1909
Louis’s Fashion Restaurant re-opened in San Francisco. It started in 1898 but was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The new place became called The Fly Trap because fly paper hung from the ceiling. 

Accidents in 1937        
A United Airlines DC-3 crashed near San Francisco when the co-pilot dropped his microphone. It jammed controls that stopped the pilot from pulling out of the glide. All 11 passengers were killed. 

Farrow in 1945    
Mia Farrow, actress, was born in Los Angeles. She starred in “Rosemary’s Baby” (1969) and in several films directed by Woody Allen. 

Hollywood in 1960 
The first movie star plaques were installed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame at it’s groundbreaking. 

Accidents in 1960        
The Angelo Petri, the world’s largest wine tanker, sank outside the San Francisco Golden Gate carrying 2,383,000 gallons of wine and vegetable oil.  

Hayes in 1969       
Gabby Hayes, actor, died in Burbank at age 84. He played the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy and later Roy Rogers in Western movies.

Earthquakes in 1971
The San Fernando earthquake, also known as the Sylmar earthquake, struck north of Los Angeles. It lasted only about 12 seconds but 64 people died and damage was around $500 million.

Environment in 1998      
President Bill Clinton declared Ventura and 26 other California counties a federal disaster area after storm damage reached over $275 million.

Sports in 2002       
Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders quarterback, led the AFC to a 38-30 victory over the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

Business in 2004       
Tower Records Inc., based in Sacramento, filed for bankruptcy protection. The music and entertainment chain was put out of business by large retailers, digital downloading and file sharing.

Business in 2005       
Carly Fiorina was forced out as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., headquartered in Palo Alto. 

Government in 2009     
U.S. Federal judges ordered California to release tens of thousands of inmates in the next three years to stop dangerous overcrowding.

Government in 2010     
California lawmakers called for investigations into Anthem Blue Cross rates hikes of as much as 39% for thousands of policyholders statewide.  

February 10

Overland trail in 1847
Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Beautiful morning. Wind W. Froze hard last night. To day thawing in the Sun… J. Denton trying to borrow meat for Graves. Had none to give. They have nothing but hides. All are entirely out of meat but a little we have. Our hides are nearly all eat up. But, with God’s help, spring will soon smile upon us.”

 

Gold Rush in 1848
Mariano Vallejo received a letter in Sonoma from John Sutter, explaining gold had been discovered at his lumber mill on the American River. 

Inventions in 1891
 Julia Craig, of San Francisco, patented a child’s chair. “My invention relates more particularly to a child’s nursery-chair; and its object is to provide a simple mode of construction for articles of this class, which will allow of their folding and reduction to a small package suitable for traveling persons.” It appears to be a potty chair but is not identified as such. 

Movies in 1940
Tom & Jerry cartoons, originally short films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, won seven Academy Awards before 1957 and their adaptation to TV.

Spitz in 1950 
Mark Spitz, swimmer who won a record nine gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals in 1968 and 1972, was born in Modesto.

Sports in 1961
The Chargers moved to San Diego after one season in Los Angeles. They began as an American Football League team but joined the National Football League in 1970. They have been to the playoffs 13 times.

Crime in 1984 
Kevin Collins, age 9, was kidnapped from a San Francisco street corner. His picture was one of the first to appear on milk cartons across the country but he was never found.

Crime in 1997 
The jury in O. J. Simpson’s civil trial in Santa Monica ordered him to pay $25 million in damages to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. He was accused of killing them but found not guilt of criminal charges and released. 

Parks in 1997
The National Park Service took over a small section of Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands. Most of the 60,800 acre island is owned by the Nature Conservancy.

Race relations in 1999 
A Vietnamese shopkeeper in Westminster was attacked, starting a riot when he displayed a poster of Ho Chi Minh in his shop window.

Crime in 2000 
Gil Garcetti, Los Angeles district attorney, said some 100 cases were tainted by planted evidence, false testimony and other police abuses and over 40 people wrongly prosecuted by officers of the LAPD Rampart Division. 

Government in 2006 
The FBI and California attorney general’s office announced investigations in the theft of some 200,000 debit card numbers by an international counterfeiting ring.

 

 

 

J Dilla in 2006 
J Dilla, a founding member of hip-hop act Slum Village, died in Los Angeles at age 32.

Shumway in 2006 
Dr. Norman Shumway, who performed the first successful heart transplant in the U.S., died in Palo Alto at age 83.

Accidents in 2013
A helicopter used for a reality TV show crashed in a rural area of northern Los Angeles, killing the three people aboard.