Draft:Timeline of California

The following is a chronological timeline of events occurring in or relating to the U.S. state of California.

18th century

1760s

• 1767
  • November 30: Gaspar de Portolá is appointed as the first governor of the Province of Las Californias.
• 1769
  • May 14: The Presidio of San Diego is established by Governor de Portolá, the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the present-day United States.
  • July 16: Mission San Diego de Alcalá is founded by Junípero Serra, the first of 21 Spanish missions in California.

1770s

• 1770
  • June 3: Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is founded on the Monterey Peninsula.

19th century

1800s

• 1804
  • Las Californias is split into two provinces, Alta California and Baja California, due to the rising Spanish population in its northern territories.

1820s

• 1821
  • August 24: The Treaty of Córdoba is signed, establishing Mexican independence from Spain
  • September 28: The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is ratified.

1840s

• 1846
  • June–July: A group of American settlers in Sonoma rebel against Mexican rule in the Bear Flag Revolt, beginning the Conquest of California.
• 1847
  • January 13: The Treaty of Cahuenga is signed at the Campo de Cahuenga, ending the Conquest of California and creating a ceasefire between Californios and Americans.
• 1848
  • January 24: James W. Marshall discovers gold at Sutter's Mill, beginning the California gold rush
  • December 16: The city of San Francisco is incorporated.
• 1849
  • October 13: The Constitution of California is created at a constitutional convention held at Colton Hall in Monterey.

1850s

• 1850
  • February 27: The city of Sacramento is incorporated.
  • March 27: The city of San Diego is incorporated.
  • September 9: Through the California Statehood Act, California is admitted to the United States as the 31st state.
• 1854
  • Sacramento is designated as the official state capital of California.
• 1856
  • San Francisco becomes a consolidated city-county.

1860s

• 1862
  • July 1: The Pacific Railroad Act is signed by President Abraham Lincoln, promoting the construction of a transcontinental railroad.
• 1863
  • January 8: The Central Pacific Railroad breaks ground in Sacramento.
• 1864
  • July: The California Geological Survey names the country's highest mountain Mount Whitney after state geologist Josiah Whitney.
• 1869
  • May 10: The first transcontinental railroad opens, connecting Sacramento and Omaha, Nebraska.

1870s

• 1873
  • August 18: Charles Begole, A. H. Johnson, and John Lucas become the first to summit Mount Whitney.
• 1874
  • The California State Capitol is completed in Sacramento.
• 1879
  • September 3: The Workingmen's Party of California wins 11 seats in the State Senate and 17 in the State Assembly.

1880s

• 1882
  • The Chinese Exclusion Act is signed, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for the next 10 years.
• 1885
  • Stanford University is founded by Leland and Jane Stanford, dedicated to the memory of Leland Stanford Jr.

1890s

• 1891
  • September 23: Throop College is founded in Pasadena by local politician Amos G. Throop.
• 1899
  • January 4: Henry T. Gage takes office as the 20th governor of California.

20th century

1900s

• 1903
  • January 7: George Pardee takes office as the 21st governor of California.
• 1906
  • April 18: San Francisco is struck by a 7.9 Mw earthquake that causes destructive fires, leaving over 3,000 dead in what is considered the deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.
• 1907
  • January 9: James Gillett takes office as the 23rd governor of California.

1910s

• 1911
  • January 3: Hiram Johnson takes office as the 23rd governor of California.
• 1913
  • The California Alien Land Law is signed, prohibiting Asian immigrants from owning agricultural land.
• 1915
  • The Panama–Pacific International Exposition is held in San Francisco, celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal.
• 1917
  • March 15: Governor Johnson resigns from office after he appoints himself to the U.S. Senate. Lieutenant governor William Stephens succeeds him as the 24th governor of California.

1920s

• 1920
  • After a number of name changes, Throop College is officially renamed to the California Institute of Technology.
• 1923
  • January 9: Friend Richardson takes office as the 25th governor of California.
• 1927
  • January 4: C. C. Young takes office as the 26th governor of California.

1930s

• 1931
  • January 6: James Rolph takes office as the 27th governor of California.
• 1932
  • July–August: The 1932 Summer Olympics are hosted in Los Angeles, with 37 participating nations.
• 1934
  • June 2: Governor Rolph dies in office, with lieutenant governor Frank Merriam succeeding him as the 28th governor of California.
• 1936
  • October 31: Jet Propulsion Laboratory is established by Caltech researchers in La Cañada Flintridge.
• 1937
  • May 27: The Golden Gate Bridge between San Francisco and Marin County is completed and opened to the public.
• 1939
  • January 2: Culbert Olson takes office as the 29th governor of California.

1940s

• 1942
  • February 19: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans.
  • March: The Manzanar War Relocation Center opens in Inyo County.
• 1943
  • January 4: Earl Warren takes office as the 30th governor of California.
• 1945
  • January: The Shasta Dam is completed ahead of schedule, becoming the second-tallest dam in the U.S. behind Hoover.
  • June 26: The Charter of the United Nations is signed in San Francisco by 50 of the 51 original member states.

1950s

• 1951
  • September 8: The Treaty of San Francisco is signed, re-establishing peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers and ending the legal state of war.
• 1953
  • October 5: Governor Warren resigns from office to accept the nomination of Chief Justice of the United States. Lieutenant governor Goodwin Knight succeeds him as the 31st governor of California.
• 1959
  • January 5: Pat Brown takes office as the 32nd governor of California.

1960s

• 1965
  • September 8: AWOC launches the Delano grape strike, organizing grape growers to fight for increased wages and working conditions. The NFWA join the strike a week later.
• 1966
  • August 22: The United Farm Workers is established from a merger of the National Farm Workers Association and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.
• 1967
  • January 2: Ronald Reagan takes office as the 33rd governor of California.
• 1968
  • May 4: The Oroville Dam is completed on the Feather River, impounding Lake Oroville. It remains the tallest dam in the U.S. at 770 feet (235 meters) high.
  • June 5: U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

1970s

• 1970
  • July 29: The Delano grape strike ends with victory for farm workers, resulting in a collective bargaining agreement.
• 1975
  • January 6: Jerry Brown takes office as the 34th governor of California.
  • September 5: President Gerald Ford survives an assassination attempt by Squeaky Fromme while visiting the California State Capitol.
  • September 22: Gerald Ford survives another assassination attempt by Sara Jane Moore after he addressed the World Affairs Councils of America.

1980s

• 1983
  • January 3: George Deukmejian takes office as the 35th governor of California.
• 1984
  • July–August: The 1984 Summer Olympics are hosted in Los Angeles, with 140 participating nations.

1990s

• 1991
  • January 7: Pete Wilson takes office as the 36th governor of California.
• 1992
  • April 29 – May 3: A series of riots occur across Los Angeles County in response to the acquittal of four LAPD officers responsible for the beating of Rodney King. Widespread looting, assault, and arson occurred during the riots, leading to 63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, and over 12,000 arrests.
• 1999
  • January 4: Gray Davis takes office as the 37th governor of California.

21st century

2000s

• 2003
  • October 7: California votes to recall Governor Davis from office, electing Arnold Schwarzenegger as his successor.

2010s

• 2011
  • January 3: Jerry Brown takes office for a non-consecutive third term as the 39th governor of California.
• 2014
  • May 23: Six people are killed and 14 are left injured after a misogynistic spree killing in Isla Vista carried out by Elliot Rodger, who then commits suicide.
• 2019
  • January 7: Gavin Newsom takes office as the 40th governor of California.

2020s

• 2020
  • January 25: The first infection of COVID-19 is confirmed in California.
  • March 4: Governor Newsom declares a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
• 2021
  • September 14: Governor Newsom survives a recall election.
• 2023
  • February: The state of emergency regarding COVID-19 is lifted.