The Earthquake That Stopped the World Series
On October 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Bay Area during the World Series pregame show — live in front of millions of viewers.
Tagged: california
The Day Europe First Saw California
On September 28, 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay and became the first European to set foot on the West Coast of the United States.
The State That Beat Congress to It
On September 9, 1850, California became the 31st state — a free state that had already been governing itself for nearly a year.
Nine Days Without Landing: The Voyager's Impossible Flight
On December 23, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landed the Voyager at Edwards Air Force Base, completing the first nonstop, non-refueled flight around the world.
San Francisco, 5:12 A.M.: The Quake and the Fire
At 5:12 on the morning of April 18, 1906, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake shattered San Francisco — and the fires that followed nearly finished the job.
Faster Than Sound: Jacqueline Cochran Breaks the Barrier
On May 18, 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, flying a borrowed F-86 Sabre jet over Rogers Dry Lake, California.
Twenty-Five Days a Nation: The Bear Flag Revolt
On June 14, 1846, American settlers seized the Mexican outpost at Sonoma and proclaimed the California Republic, raising a homemade grizzly bear flag.
Forty-Four Settlers and a River: The Day Los Angeles Was Founded
On September 4, 1781, forty-four settlers from northern Mexico founded a tiny farming town on the banks of a river — and named it El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles.
The Rock Opens for Business: First Prisoners Reach Alcatraz, August 11, 1934
On August 11, 1934, 137 of America's most troublesome federal inmates rode a guarded train to San Francisco Bay — and into the country's most famous prison.
The Speech That Started the Gold Rush
On December 5, 1848, President James K. Polk told Congress that California's gold was real — and within a year, 100,000 fortune-seekers were racing west.
The Barbecue Stand That Became Golden Arches
On May 15, 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's — a carhop barbecue drive-in in San Bernardino that would evolve into the fast-food industry.
'Black Sunday': Disneyland's Chaotic Opening Day
On July 17, 1955, Walt Disney's $17 million park opened in Anaheim to 28,000 guests — nearly double the invited crowd — in a sweltering disaster the staff later called 'Black Sunday.'
A Sparkle in the Millrace: The Discovery That Built California
On January 24, 1848, James Marshall spotted gold flakes at Sutter's Mill, setting off the California Gold Rush and the largest mass migration in U.S. history.