June 9

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.

 

 

 

Transportation 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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crime in 1991
Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe at age 11 and rescued at age 29.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_22Oqhwtc

Business in 1996
Intel, in Santa Clara, introduced a Pentium 200MHz processor with 0.35 micron process technology and 3.3 millions of transistors.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Mohave 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.

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. 

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. 

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).

June 13

Missions in 1798
Lausen dedicated Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, the 18th mission. In 1830 it had 30 square miles of land. They grazed 27,000 head of cattle, 26,000 sheep, 2,000 horses, plus pigs, goats, ducks, chickens and geese. There were wheat fields, vegetable gardens, vineyards that produced fine wine and groves of olive and orange trees.

Environmentin 1907
The lowest temperature recorded in the 48 U.S. states for June was 2°F in Tamarack. 

Alvarez in 1911  
Luis Alvarez, experimental physicist, inventor and professor, was born in San Francisco. Winner of a Nobel Prize (1968), he has been called “one of the most brilliant and productive experimental physicists of the twentieth century.”

Flight in 1946
Robin Olds and three other USAF pilots flew the first one-day round-trip transcontinental flight from March Field, Riverside County, to Washington, DC.

Zappa in 1958
Frank Zappa graduated from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster. The leader of The Mothers of Invention attended high school with Don Van Vliet, later known as the musician Captain Beefheart.

Music in 1968    
Johnny Cash performed a concert at California’s Folsom Prison. The album, “At Folsom Prison” brought new life to his career and lead to a second prison album, “At San Quentin” (1969).

Crime in 2001
San Francisco police shot and killed Idriss Stelley, age 23, at the Sony Metreon complex. Stelley suffered a mental breakdown and cut an officer with a knife. Officers fired over 20 shots, wounding one of their men.

Fires in 2008
Some 2,800 firefighters fought the Humboldt Fire in Butte County. 9,000 residents fled as fire covered 23,000 acres. It destroyed 74 homes and damaged 20 more in Paradise before it was brought under control on  June 15.

 

Crime in 2011
Orange County District Attorney charged Dr. Sim Hoffman, radiologist, and Dr. Thomas Heric, neurologist, and two staffers in a $17 million insurance fraud scheme.

Sports in 2012
Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants, pitched a perfect game to defeat the Houston Astros, 10-0. This was the 22nd perfect game in major league history.

June 14

Government in 1846 
The California Republic was declared following the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma. Thirty-three American rebels at the plaza raised a flag with a bear and a star symbols. Although the U.S. declared war against Mexico in May, word did not reach California until July. 

Newspapers in 1849
California Star, San Francisco’s first newspaper closed. The staff had gone to the gold fields.

Fires in 1850 
Fire burned over 300 houses in San Francisco. Two-thirds of the richest part of the city was destroyed at an estimated loss of $3 million.

Fires in 1853
Fire burned almost the whole town of Shasta. Seventy buildings were destroyed, including every hotel, store and saloon.

Transportation in 1876
Leland Stanford and friends established the California Street Cable Car Railroad Co. in San Francisco. This provided transportation to their mansions under construction on Nob Hill.

Libraries in 1879
Sacramento Free Public Library opened with a collection of around 6,000 books to serve a population of 21,000. Today it is the fourth largest library system in California, serving over 1.3 million people who borrow 7.5 million items yearly.

Crime in 1882
Charles Earl Bowles, English born gentleman bandit known as Black Bart, who left poems at the scenes of his crime, held up Wells Fargo stagecoaches 28 times. His 22nd was two miles from Little Lake in Mendocino County.

Business in 1893
Riverside Banking Company closed due to a national economic depression. Panicked depositors withdrew funds from other Los Angeles banks, forcing several more to close.

Architecture in 1927
The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley opened. It is an example of National Park Service rustic architecture and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

Atherton in 1948
Gertrude Atherton, author, died in San Francisco, where she was born. Many of her novels were set in California. Black Oxen (1923) was made into a movie by the same name. Some of her work deals with women’s rights and feminist politics.

Transportation in 1959
The Disneyland Monorail System opened. It was the first daily operating monorail system in the US. Vice-President Richard Nixon and his family attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Environment in 1961 
Temperature reached 106°F in San Francisco, the highest reading there for this day since 1871. It reached the same temperature on July 3, 1988.

Government in 1967
Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Therapeutic Abortion Act. He was in office for four months when he signed it and later said he would not have signed it if he had been more experienced. 

Sports in 1969
Reggie Jackson, Oakland A’s, batted in 10 runs to beat the Boston Red Sox, 21-7. He got five hits in six at-bats, including two home runs, two doubles and a single.

Music in 1981
Bruce Springsteen headlined the No Nukes concert at Hollywood Bowl. It featured Jackson Browne, Gary US Bonds, Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and Nicolette Larson.

Sports in 1987
Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in the 41st NBA Championship, 4-2. Magic Johnson was named MVP. He averaged 26.2 points, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Crime in 1989
Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress, was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills motorcycle patrolman. She was sentenced to three days in jail and reached an out-of-court settlement in a $10-million lawsuit filed by the officer.

Mancini in 1994 
Henry Mancini, legendary composer and arranger best known for film and television scores, died in Beverly Hills at age 70. He won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, 20 Grammy Awards and the US Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor (2004).

Sports in 1995
Mike Benjamin, San Francisco Giants, batted 6-for-7 in a 13-inning win over the Chicago White Sox, 4-3. He hit five singles, a double and drove in the winning run. Benjamin set a major league record by getting 14 hits in three games.

Environment in 2000
Temperature hit 103 degrees In San Francisco, matching the record high set on July 17, 1988.

Jordan in 2002
June Jordan, black radical UC Berkeley poet- professor, died of at age 65. She wrote 28 volumes of poems, political essays and children’s books, becoming one of the most published African American writers.

Environment in 2005
A 7.0-magnitude quake struck northern California about 90 miles southwest of coastal Crescent City, where a 1964 tsunami killed 11 people.

Water in 2007 
Sonoma County Water Agency became the first water provider in the state since the early 1990s to begin mandatory rationing.

Parks in 2008
Fort Baker, in Marin County, was rededicated as a public park with the 142-room Cavallo Point lodge.

Sports in 2009
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in the 63rd NBA Championship, 4-1. Kobe Bryant was named Most Valuable Player. He averaged 32.4 points and 7.4 assists in this series.

Public health in 2011
Los Angeles Unified School District, agreed to combat childhood obesity by stop serving chocolate and strawberry milk in school cafeterias.

June 15

Water in 1857 
San Francisco Water Works was formed to draw water from Lobos Creek, near the Presidio. It was bought by Spring Valley Water Works in 1858 then by the city in the 1930’s.

Photography in 1878
Eadweard Muybridge took a series of photographs to prove all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs. That series of photographs become the basis of motion pictures.

Libraries in 1885
Orange Public Library was founded. Today they have 34 Yelp reviews with a 4.5 star rating.

 

 

Fairs in 1915 
The U.S. government minted octagonal $50 gold coins for the Panama Pacific Exposition. The first ones were struck in a special ceremony at the San Francisco Mint.

Sports in 1963 
Juan Marichal, San Francisco Giants, pitched a no-hitter to defeat the Houston Colt .45s, 1-0. 

Music in 1963
Buck Owens’ song, “Act Naturally,” began its first of four non-consecutive weeks at the #1 position on the Billboard Country Singles chart.

Crime in 1970
Charles Manson’s trial for the Sharon Tate murders began. Manson appeared in court with an “X” carved into his forehead on the first day of testimony. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRAcq-Jgg_s&t=23s

Ashley in 1996
Mary Ashley, pioneer video and performance artist, died in San Francisco at age 65. She was a driving force behind the ONCE festivals, beginning in 1961.

Fitzgerald in 1996
Ella Fitzgerald, legendary jazz singer, died in Beverly Hills at age 78. She was known as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella.

Sports in 2001
Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-96 in game five to win their second straight NBA championship.

Sports in 2004 
Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1, to win the 58th NBA Championship. The Lakers’ collapse resulted in only one of the stars, Kobe Bryant, remaining on the team for the next season.

Business in 2011
Pandora Media, in Oakland, debuted on Wall Street. The stock closed at $17.42, up 8.87% over its $16 IPO.

Computers in 2012 
An Apple I computer sold at auction for $374,500. In 1975, to finance its creation, Steve Jobs sold his VW Microbus and Steve Wozniak sold his calculator. The working Apple I is displayed at the Nexon Computer Museum in Jeju City, South Korea.

June 16

Ranchos in 1842
Rancho de la Punta de Reyes was deeded. A portion of the 13,645-acre Mexican land grant is in Marin County’s Point Reyes National Seashore.

Overland journey in 1846
Tamsen Donner wrote that they reached the Platte River. The journey had been easier than she expected. They were 200 miles from Fort Laramie, in present-day Wyoming.

Environment in 1896
Temperature hit 127°F at Fort Mojave. It was the hottest reading of record for June in the US.

Transportation in 1908
Taxi cab service started in Los Angeles. The Thomas Motor Car vehicles had a 16-horsepower motor. The ten taxis introduced into service were the first ones west of Chicago.

Exploration in 1909
Roald Amundsen, explorer, donated his converted herring boat, the Gjoe, to San Francisco. He sailed it across the Northwest Passage in 1905, reaching San Francisco in 1906. The boat was returned to Norway (1972), replaced by a sculpture next to the Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach.

Government in 1913
The California legislature approved the Civil Service Act. This guaranteed employment in state government based on merit and ability, not on political connections.

Transportation in 1929 
Otto Funk, 62, ended his walk from New York to San Francisco. He traveled 4,165 miles in 183 days. Known as the “Walking Fiddler,” he  fiddled every step of the way.

Chaplin in 1943
Charlie Chaplin, comic actor and filmmaker, married his fourth wife, Oona O’Neill, 18-year-old daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, in Carpenteria. Chaplin’s became famous worldwide for his character, “the Tramp,” and as a cofounder of United Artists.

Art in 1954
The 13-foot neon beer glass atop the new Hamm’s Brewery in San Francisco was turned on. Brewing continued there until 1974.

Reeves in 1959
George Reeves, film and television actor, died in Beverly Hills at age 45. He was best known as Superman in the television series (1952-1958).

Television in 1966
“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” filmed in Burbank (1968-1972), debuted on NBC-TV. It featured some of the first music videos seen on network television, popularized the phrase “Sock it to me!,” launched careers and spun off a magazine and trading cards.

Music in 1967
50,000 – 90,000 people attended the first Monterey International Pop Festival. It featured Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Ravi Shankar. It was the first large-scale public performance of Janis Joplin and introduced Otis Redding to a large, predominantly white audience.

Sports in 1975 
The Milwaukee Bucks traded Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Walt Wesley to the Los Angeles Lakers for four players. The NBA’s best center, who had grown up in New York City and starred at UCLA, wanted out of Milwaukee. 

Race relations in 1980
Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, received his doctoral degree from UC Santa Cruz. His doctoral thesis was titled “War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America.”

Business in 1977
Oracle Corporation incorporated in Santa Clara as Software Development Laboratories. Today it is the second-largest software maker by revenue, after Microsoft.

Sports in 1988
Thirty-two divers begin cycling  on a standard tricycle underwater near Santa Barbara to complete 116.66 mi in 75 hours 20 minutes.

Music in 1990 
MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Oakland native was known for flashy dance movements, choreography and Hammer pants.

Lapin in 2004
Al Lapin Jr., co-founder of the International House of Pancakes with his brother (1958), died in Los Angeles at age 76. The pancake houses became known for blue roofs and leaving a pot of coffee on the table.

Crime in 2006
In Martinez, Susan Polk was convicted of stabbing to death her millionaire psychotherapist husband, whom she had met as a 14-year-old girl in treatment.

Government in 2006
An unofficial final tally showed former US Rep. Ron Dellums won the Oakland mayor’s race by 155 votes with 50.18% of the vote.

Government in 2008
California county clerks began issuing marriage rights to gay men and lesbians, becoming the second US state to grant such rights.