| 1542 | |
| 1579 | |
| 1700 | | 26 Jan:
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake strikes off the west coast of North America producing a huge tsunami that sweeps across the Pacific.NRCan USGS |
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| 1777 | | 29 Nov:
The first pueblo in California is established as San Jose, or El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadelupe.SJPL SJ.gov |
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| 1781 | |
| 1846 | |
| | 14 Jun:
Anglo-Californians rebel against Mexican rule in the Bear Flag Revolt.BFM NPS |
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| 1847 | |
| 1848 | | 24 Jan:
Gold is found at Sutter's Mill sparking the California Gold Rush in 1849.SI Coloma |
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| 1850 | |
| 1860 | | 3 Apr:
The Pony Express mail delivery service is established.PX NPX |
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| 1873 | | 20 May:
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.W I R E D LS&Co |
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| 1892 | |
| 1906 | | 18 Apr:
San Franciscans are shaken out of bed by the Great San Francisco Earthquake. The city is further destroyed by an uncontrolled inferno the rages for four days and nights.USGS USNA |
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| 1913 | | 31 Oct:
The first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway, is dedicated.DOT ILH |
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| 1919 | | 5 Feb:
Hollywood stars Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, along with director D. W. Griffith, get together to form United Artists.CSL WHP |
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| 1920 | | 2 Nov:
Warren Gamaliel Harding is elected the 29th president of the United States of America. He dies of a heart attack in San Francisco on 2 August 1923. USEA LoC |
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| 1923 | | 13 Jul:
The Hollywoodland (now just Hollywood) sign is officially dedicated.CAW&P SD |
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| | 16 Oct:
Walt and Roy Disney found the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Hollywood, California.D23 Disney |
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| 1927 | | 7 Sep:
Philo Taylor Farnsworth transmits the first electronic image - television.ThePilot tHoTV |
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| 1933 | | 5 Jan:
Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge.SIMag GGB |
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| 1935 | |
| 1936 | |
| 1937 | | 28 May:
The Golden Gate Bridge opens to vehicular traffic.GGB PBS |
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| 1940 | | 27 Feb:
Carbon-14 is discovered by scientists Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben working at the University of California at Berkeley making it now possible to date once living material.W I R E D BerkLab |
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| |
| 1942 | | 19 Feb:
President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 resulting in the forcible internment of people of Japanese ancestry. USNA OurDocs |
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| 1946 | | 16 May:
Jack Mullin gives the first public demonstration of a professional quality tape recorder in the U. S..MoB LATimes |
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| 1947 | |
| | 24 Nov:
The "Hollywood 10" are charged with contempt by the U. S. Congress.ABAJ CUNY |
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| 1948 | | 3 Jun:
The 200 inch Hale Telescope goes into operation at the Palomar Observatory.NPS UC |
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| 1949 | | 6 Jan:
The first photograph of genes was taken at the University of Southern California by Dr. Daniel Chapin Pease and Dr. Richard Freligh Baker. TiS DE |
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| 1951 | | 10 Nov:
Mayor M. Leslie Downing of Englewood, New Jersey and Mayor Frank Osborne of Alameda, California make the first direct-dialed, transcontinental telephone call.CSL BH |
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| 1953 | | 29 Apr:
The ABC affiliate KECA-TV broadcasts the show Space Patrol in 3-D but it can only be viewed using special polarized lenses.EDN Signals |
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| 1954 | | 18 Feb:
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles based upon the religious philosophy of writer L. Ron Hubbard.EAEC CoS |
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| 1955 | | 17 Jul:
The happiest place on Earth, Disneyland opens.DD T&L |
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| 1956 | | 13 Sep:
IBM introduces the first computer hard disk drive.RN EDN |
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| 1963 | |
| 1967 | | 14 Jan:
Timothy Leary, in his first San Francisco appearance, utters the sound bite of the 60s decade: "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.".FR FSF |
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| |
| 1968 | | 18 Jul:
Noyce and Moore incorporate N M Electronics, soon to become Intel.FU CHM |
|
| | 17 Nov:
With just 65 seconds left to play, NBC switches off an NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets in favor of the movie Heidi.History.com |
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| | 9 Dec:
Douglas C. Engelbart and a group of researchers demonstrate a working computer mouse as part of the NLS - "oN Line System".Stanford SI |
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| 1969 | | 2 Sep:
The first node of the ARPANET, the first version of the internet, goes into service.npr W I R E D |
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| | 6 Dec:
Tragedy at the Altamont Speedway Free Music Festival brings the 60s to a close.Forbes AMF |
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| 1970 | | 17 Nov:
The patent for the computer mouse is granted to Doug Engelbart.SU GooglePatents |
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| 1971 | | 25 Jan:
All defendants from the Manson Family are found guilty in the Tate-LaBianca murder trial.LAMag LAWS |
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| 1973 | | 22 May:
The computer network standard ethernet is described by Bob Metcalfe of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.W I R E D CHM |
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| 1976 | | 1 Apr:
Apple Computer is established.AI MO |
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| 1977 | | 23 Aug:
The Kremer Prize for the first sustained (mile-long) human-powered flight is claimed by the Gossamer Condor.SI CAOHP |
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| 1978 | | 18 Nov:
Members of the People's Temple commit murder and more than 900 die by mass suicide in the jungle of Guyana.SDSU WRSP |
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| | 27 Nov:
San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.npr SFC |
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| 1986 | |
| | 14 Dec:
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, in the Voyager are the first to fly around the world without stopping or refueling.SI NASA |
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| 1988 | | 7 Mar:
The Writers Guild of America goes on strike, beginning the age of "Reality TV".WAPO History.com |
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| 1992 | | 29 Apr:
Riots in Los Angeles begin following the acquittal of the police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King.SCPR SIMag |
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| 1994 | |
| | 4 Apr:
Netscape is founded by Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark under the name "Mosaic Communications Corporation".CH PopMech |
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| 1998 | | 7 Sep:
Larry Page and Sergey Brin establish Google.W I R E D HoI |
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| 2007 | | 9 Jan:
Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone to the world.MacWorld Apple |
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| 2010 | | 8 Dec:
SpaceX successfully returns the Dragon capsule back to earth after the launch and orbit of the Falcon 9 rocket - a first for a private company.PS NASA |
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| 2020 | | 6 Feb:
The first U. S. death known to be from COVID-19 pandemic occurs in Santa Clara County, California.npr CNN |
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| | 11 Aug:
Presidential candidate Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as his running mate.NYT BP |
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| 2024 | | 21 Jul:
Joe Biden decides to end his run for re-election. He then endorses Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee.POLITICO B B C |
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