August 25

Fire in 1857
Columbia burned down for the second time. Miners blamed a Chinese cook and evicted all Chinese people from town.

Transportation in 1864
A combination rail and ferry service connected San Francisco to Alameda.

Transportation in 1929
Graf Zeppelin, on a tour around the world, passed over San Francisco on its way to Los Angeles after crossing the Pacific Ocean.

Environment in 1935
A tropical cyclone moved north, bringing rain to southern California and parts of Arizona.

Transportation in 1947
Marion Carl, Navy test pilot, set a world speed record of 651 mph in a D-558-I at Muroc Field.

Accidents in 1950
The USS Benevolence, a Navy hospital ship, sank after being struck by the SS Mary Luckenbach in dense fog around the Golden Gate. Twenty-three people died. John Napoli, a San Francisco fisherman, single-handedly rescued 70 others. He injured his back and was forced to sell his crab boat. The U.S. Congress, in 1961, passed a bill to pay Napoli for his effort.

Music in 1970
Elton John made his U.S. debut in a sold out sold-out 6-night run at West Hollywood’s Troubadour Club. Robert Hilburn, music critic for the Los Angeles Times, wrote: “Tuesday night at the Troubadour was just the beginning. He’s going to be one of rock’s biggest and most important stars.”

Sports in 1979
The California Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 24-2. The Angels finished first in the American League West with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses.

Sports in 1986
Mark McGwire, Oakland A’s, hit his first MLB home run. Over his career, he averaged a home run  every 10.61 at bats, the best ratio in baseball history.

Government in 2005
California sued 39 pharmaceutical companies for allegedly inflating prices.

Environment in 2005
Summer heat in Southern California combined with a loss of key transmission lines, forcing power officials to impose rolling blackouts. Nearly 500,000 people were without power for an hour at a time.

Stefano in 2006
Joseph Stefano, who wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” (1960) died in Thousand Oaks at age 84.

Music in 2007
San Francisco hosted the 2nd annual Jug Band Festival at the Golden Gate Park at the same time the 4th annual Renaissance Fair happened elsewhere in the park.

Power in 2010
California Energy Commission approved the first large scale solar project. Project was built in Kern County, the western edge of the Mojave Desert.

Environment in 2013
Moisture from Tropical Storm Ivo caused flooding in southern California for two days.

August 26

Business in 1875
Depositors anxious about Nevada silver mining stocks made a run on the Bank of California. The bank failed, ruining William Ralston, who drown himself in San Francisco Bay.

Environment in 1915
Remnants of a tropical cyclone brought around an inch of rain to Riverside.

Chaney in 1930
Lon Chaney, stage and film actor, director and screenwriter, died in Los Angeles at age 47. He was best  known for roles in silent horror films, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925).

Crime in 1969
Charles Manson and followers murdered Donald “Shorty” Shea, a Hollywood stuntman, living with them on Spahn Ranch about this time. Manson ordered him killed because he suspected Shorty reported them to the police. Shorty’s body was not found until 1977.

 

 

Sports in 1973
Mary Boitano,10 years old, won the 6.8-mile Dipsea Race in Marin County. She beat 1,500 runners and was the first woman to win. At age 11, and for 3 years straight, she won the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco.

Stone in 1989
Irving Stone, writer born in San Francisco, died in Los Angeles at age 86. Men to Match My Mountains (1956) tells the story of the opening of the West,1840–1900.

Crime in 1993
Dorothea Puente was convicted in Monterey of murdering three of her boardinghouse tenants. She was later sentenced to life without parole.

Landmarks in 2001
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors proclaimed City Lights Bookstore as Landmark No. 228. It has been at the center of poetry and literature since the Beatnik era and is most famous for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems (1956).

Music in 2007     
The 17th annual Accordion Festival in Cotati, attended by some 5,000 people and 30 bands, closed after 2 days.

Environment in 2007
Remnants of Hurricane Dean make landfall in Santa Barbara area, triggering heavy rains and minor flooding  for 2 days throughout Southern California.

Government in 2008       
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a measure to place a statewide bullet train measure on the November ballot.

Government in 2008
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said he expected raids on San Francisco Bay Area medical pot clubs that sell for big profits. He issued guidelines on medical marijuana sales and state officials raided a Los Angeles County club.

Fires in 2009   
Station Fire grew into the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history. Two firefighters died battling the blaze. It burned over 230 square miles of land within the Angeles National Forest, La Canada, Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton, Soledad Canyon, Pasadena, Glendale and Sierra Madre. It burned 209 structures, including 89 homes.

Fires in 2009
Big Meadow Fire  burned 12 square miles inside Yosemite National Park. Tioga Road closed. The fire wasn’t fully contained until September 10. It  started when a controlled burn got out of control, leading people to question the judgment of Park authorities.

Fires in 2013
Rim Fire grew to 150,000 acres on the western edge of Yosemite National Park. The fire began on Aug 17 and now covered over 250 square miles. Officials said it was 20% contained.

August 27

Music in 1861
A German song festival, Deutsche saengerfest, was held in San Francisco.

Fires in 1913
A fire at arcade stables on Folsom St. in San Francisco killed 95 horses.

Environment in 1951
Remnants of a tropical cyclone brought enough rain over a few days to wash out some roads in Southern California.

Allen in 1964
Gracie Allen, radio and television comedian born in San Francisco, died in Los Angeles at age 69. She was best known as the comic partner of George Burns, her husband.

Sports in 1982
Rickey Henderson, Oakland A’s outfielder, broke the Major League Baseball record for stolen bases in one season when he stole #119.

Government in 1996
Governor Pete Wilson signed an executive order halting state benefits to illegal immigrants.

Business in 2001
Intel, in Santa Clara, released the 1.9 GHz and 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 processors.

Environment in 2009
Remnants of Tropical Storm Ignacio triggered heavy rains for several days across northern and central California.

August 28

Race relations in 1863
The Koncow Trail of Tears began. All Koncow Maidu were forced from their homeland, rounded up at Bidwell Ranch, near today’s Chico, then lead away to Round Valley Reservation in Mendocino County. Any Indians remaining in the area were to be shot. 461 Maidu began the Trail of Tears, 277 survived.

 

Flight in 1883
John Montgomery made the first manned, controlled flight in the U.S.  His glider, inspired by watching birds, weighed 38 pounds and flew at 15 feet for at least 300 feet at Otay Mesa near San Diego.

Sports in 1982 
The first Gay Olympic Games were held in San Francisco. The games were open to all to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. Competitors came from many countries, including those where homosexuality was illegal.

Turner in 1986 
Tina Turner’s star was unveiled in Hollywood. She was one the world’s most popular entertainers of the 1960s – 90s. She’s been called the “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll.” She won eight Grammys and sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history.

Sports in 1993 
Long Beach defeated Panama in the Little League World Series. The team included future major leaguer Sean Burroughs, who scored in the bottom of the sixth to edge Panama, 3-2 and win the world championship. 

Government in 1995
Governor Pete Wilson formally entered the GOP presidential race.

Crime in 2003
Two pipe bombs exploded at Chiron Corporation. a biotechnology firm in Emeryville. Revolutionary Cells, animal rights radicals took responsibility for the attack.

Benedict in 2006
Ed Benedict, legendary Hollywood animator, died in Auburn. He drew Hanna-Barbera Studios cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone, Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear.

MacCready in 2007
Paul MacCready, designer of the Gossamer Albatross, died in Pasadena at age 81. His bicycle powered plane crossed the English Channel in 1979. He founded AeroVironment to monitor air pollution (1971).

 

Fires in 2009
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties due to fires.

Crime in 2010 
A drug task force found 47,800 marijuana plants in an 8-acre cornfield in Atwater. Two men were arrested.

August 29

Ishi in 1911 
Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, walked out of the wilderness into the modern world near Oroville. He was befriended by U.C. Berkeley anthropologists who studied and hired him as a research assistant. Ishi lived for five years in San Francisco. Ishi Wilderness Area in northeastern California, his tribe’s ancestral grounds, is named in his memory.

Television in 1953
KHSL TV channel 12 in Chico began broadcasting. It dominates the airwaves in the Central Valley north of Sacramento.

Movies in 1964
Walt Disney released “Mary Poppins” to widespread praise. It received 13 Academy Award nominations and won 5, a record for Walt Disney Studios. It is considered one of the greatest films of all time but P.L. Travers did not like it.

Music in 1965
The Beatles gave a press conference at the Capitol Tower at Hollywood and Vine and were presented them with gold discs for sales of Help!. Afterwards an armored truck drove them to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. 18,000 people attended. One fan gave birth in the car park outside the venue.

Music in 1966
The Beatles played their final public concert in San Francisco. Ringo Starr remembered, “There was a big talk at Candlestick Park that this had got to end. At that San Francisco gig it seemed that this could possibly be the last time, but I never felt 100% certain till we got back to London. John wanted to give up more than the others. He said that he’d had enough.”

Salazar in 1970
Ruben Salazar, a 42-year-old Latino journalist for KMEX, was killed by a tear gas canister fired by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War. No evidence established he was killed deliberately. A U.S. postage stamp was issued in his honor (2008).

Crime in 1971
Gunmen burst into the Ingleside Police Station and fired through a hole in a bullet-proof glass window, killing Sergeant John Young and wounding a civilian clerk. In 2007 police charged nine former members of the Black Liberation Army with waging a campaign of “chaos and terror” that left at least three officers dead from 1968-1973.

Sports in 1972
Jim Barr, San Francisco Giants pitcher, retired the first 20 batters he faced, which added to the 21 he retired 6 days earlier for a record 41 in-a-row.

Labor in 1996
Exotic dancers at Lusty Lady Club, a San Francisco North Beach club, joined the Service Employees International Union.

 

 

Crime in 2006
Anthony Quintero, 24-year-old Brink’s guard, was killed during a robbery by his partner Clifton Wherry Jr. and Dwight Campbell in East Oakland. Campbell shot Quintero. They were arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Slow food in 2008 
The first Slow Food Nation, a 4-day event, opened in San Francisco, attracting over 50,000 people. They envisioned a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who produce it and good for the planet.

Business in 2011
Adult film productions in Los Angeles stopped after a performer tested HIV-positive. A retest by the end of the week indicated no virus and film production continued.

Crime in 2013
California border patrol agents found nearly 18,500 pounds of marijuana, estimated at $14.7 million, in a tractor-trailer at a San Clemente checkpoint.

August 30

Overland Trail in 1846
The Donner Party reached Redlum Spring. That was the last place for water before crossing the dry Great Salt Lake Desert. They would run out of water in 3 days. They didn’t know it would take 5 days to cross the desert.

Bronson in 2003
Charles Bronson, film and television actor, died in Los Angeles at age 81. Most famous as a tough-guy, he was in some 60 films including the “Death Wish” series (1974-1994).

Government in 2006       
California passed the most sweeping controls on carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. That made California a leader in curbing man-made causes of climate change.

Ford in 2006
Glenn Ford, legendary film actor, died at his home in Beverly Hills. He played strong, thoughtful leading men in films like in “Gilda” (1946), “The Big Heat” (1953) and “The Blackboard Jungle” (1955).

Crime in 2010
Hewlett-Packard Co., in Palo Alto, agreed to pay $55 million to settle a Justice Department investigation of a kickback scheme.

 

Public health in 2012     
Yosemite National Park closed Curry Village tent cabins following additional cases of hantavirus. Six people were infected, two died. Cabins were infested with deer mice that carry the disease.

August 31

Transportation in 1851    
Flying Cloud, a Yankee clipper ship, set a record for sailing from New York around South America to San Francisco in 89 days.

Crime in 1881
Charles Earl Bowles, English born gentleman bandit known as Black Bart, left poems at the scene of his crimes. He held up Wells Fargo stage coaches 28 times. The 16th was near Yreka in Siskiyou County.

 

 

 

Saroyan in 1908  
William Saroyan, Armenian-American writer, was born near Fresno. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1940) and an Academy Award for Best Short Story (1943) for the film of his novel The Human Comedy.

 

Sports in 1959 
Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, broke Dizzy Dean’s National League record of 18 strikeouts in one game.

Sports in 1964 
Ground was broken for Anaheim Stadium, home of the Angels, nicknamed The Big A. It opened in 1966. Today it is the fourth-oldest Major League Baseball stadium after Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium.

Muir in 1964
John Muir’s home in Martinez, where the Sierra Club founder lived, became a National Historic Site. Along with the house, 325 acres of native oak woodlands and grasslands nearby, owned by the Muir family, were preserved.

Music in 1965
The Beatles returned to the Cow Palace in San Francisco for their second concert, the 10th and final stop of their 1965 North American tour.

 

Ford in 1973     
John Ford, legendary film director, died in Palm Desert at age 79. He directed some 140  films, many classic Westerns and literary movies.

Crime in 1978
Emily and William Harris, Symbionese Liberation Army founders, pleaded guilty to kidnapping newspaper heiress, Patty Hearst (1974).

Crime in 1985 
Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker serial killer, was arrested in East L.A. Elderly Mexican women recognized his face on the covers of newspapers. He was captured by local residents.

Accidents in 1986  
Aeroméxico Flight 498, approaching Los Angeles, collided with a light plane and crashed in Cerritos. Eighty-two people died, passengers in both planes and people on the ground.

Sports in 2002 
The Los Angeles Sparks beat the New York Liberty to defend their Women’s National Basketball Association championship, 69-66.

Computers in 2004 
Apple, Inc., in Cupertino, introduced the iMac G4 with the computer built into the monitor.

Crime in 2006  
Tony Daniloo, former President and CEO of DreamLife Financial, of Turlock, was indicted on 122 charges of fraud and money laundering, He allegedly stole $7 million from East Bay and the Central Valley homeowners.

Government in 2007      
A federal court decided the U.S. Navy can continue underwater sonar blasts in anti-submarine warfare tests off of Southern California. The court decided military needs were more important than whales.

San Francisco in 2008 
Open Streets began in San Francisco. The city closed 4.5 miles of waterfront streets to cars and invited people to come out and play in the streets. 

Crime in 2009
Anand Jon Alexander, celebrity fashion designer, was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting aspiring models he brought to Los Angeles.

Fires in 2009  
The Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest nearly doubled in size overnight, threatening 12,000 homes. Two firefighters died a day earlier when their vehicle rolled down a mountainside amid the flames.

Business in 2009
The Walt Disney Co., in Burbank, announced plans to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion. That would bring characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family with Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear.

Business in 2011 
Solyndra, a solar-cell maker in Fremont, announced plans to layoff 1,100 employees and file for bankruptcy. Solyndra received a $535 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

September 1

Missions in 1772
Father Junipero Serra dedicated San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, the fifth of California’s 21 missions. Serra chose the location for natural resources, good weather and friendly Chumash, a local tribe they put to work building  the mission. Today the mission church is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey.

Overland Trail in 1846
The Donner Party, 87 people in 23 wagons, ran out of water on their third day crossing the Great Salt Lake Desert. The Reed family oxen ran off at night and weren’t found so the Reeds had to walk.

 

Government in 1849
A Constitutional Convention to prepare for statehood met upstairs at Colton Hall in Monterey. A school was downstairs, a jail next door.

Newspapers in 1868
The Daily Dramatic Chronicle, published in San Francisco, widened its coverage and changed its name to the Morning Chronicle.

Transportation in 1873
Regular cable car service began on Clay Street in San Francisco. The line’s success made it a model for other cable car transit systems. Andrew Hallidie enforced his patents and grew rich.

Crime in 1880
Charles Earl Bowles, English born gentleman bandit known as Black Bart, left poems at the scene of his crimes. He held up Wells Fargo stage coaches 28 times. The 12th was near Last Chance Station in Shasta County.

Stevenson in 1879
Robert Louis Stevenson, 28 years old and in love with a married older woman, traveled by transcontinental railroad from New York to be with her. They married in San Francisco the next year and honeymooned in the Napa Valley. That’s where he wrote The Silverado Squatters (1883).

Japanese American Internment in 1942
A federal judge in Sacramento upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals. More than 10,000 people were forced from their homes and kept in primitive, remote camps in California and other states during World War II. 

 

Slatkin in 1944
Leonard Slatkin, music conductor and composer, was born in Los Angeles. Music runs through several generations of his Russian Jewish family. 

Sports in 1946
San Francisco 49ers played their first home game at Kezar Stadium before a crowd of 45,000. They beat the Chicago Rockets, 34-14.

San Francisco in 1952
Developer George Whitney bought Sutro Baths in San Francisco. He sold it to the National Parks Service in 1977.

Transportation in 1954
A terminal designed in the International and Mid-Century Modern architectural styles opened at San Francisco International Airport. It closed after 50 years then remodeled and reopened in 2011.

Sports in 1967 
The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds in 21 innings,1-0. That was the longest game in Reds history.

 

Hollywood in 1979
Debbie Boone married Gabriel Ferrer in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of singer Pat Boone and granddaughter of country music star Red Foley. He is the son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, brother of actors Miguel and Rafael Ferrer and cousin of George Clooney. 

 

 

Hollywood in 1979
A Los Angeles court ordered Clayton Moore to stop wearing his Lone Ranger mask. For years after “The Lone Ranger” (1949-1957), he made appearances wearing his costume. After the court order, he replaced the mask with similar-looking sunglasses. He counter-sued and won the right to wear his original costume. 

Chamberlain in 1984
Howland Chamberlain, film and stage actor, died in Oakland at age 73. He was involved with Southern California theater during the WPA. He debuted in “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) which won seven Oscars.

Protest in 1987
S. Brian Wilson, a 46-year-old Vietnam veteran, had his legs sliced off when a munitions train at the Concord Naval Weapons Station ran him over during the Nuremberg Actions. He was protesting against weapons shipments to Central America.

Parks in 1995
Limekiln State Park, 716 acres on the Big Sur coast, opened. It has four lime kilns from an 1887–1890 foundry, a beach, redwood forest and 100-foot Limekiln Falls.

Government in 1998
California Legislature approved $425 million to purchase the 9,400-acre Headwaters Forest Reserve in Humboldt County. The federal government already approved $250 million.

Sports in 2001
The Los Angeles Sparks won the WNBA championship, defeating the Charlotte Sting, 82-to-54.

Government in 2002
California Legislature approved a $99 billion budget, ending a 2-month-old standoff.

Government in 2005
California Senate approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

Crime in 2009
Five San Francisco Public Utilities Commission workers and two others were charged with falsely charging the city for $200,000 in goods over four years. 

Fires in 2009
The Station Fire burned 53 homes and threatened thousands more. People evacuated neighborhoods just 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. On Sep 3 investigators said the fire was an act of arson. The 250-square-mile fire was 100% contained 52 days after it began.

Business in 2010
Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, introduced Ping as the music social network. It launched with 1 million members in 23 countries.