Los Angeles History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 261

• 1781-09-04 Los Angeles is founded by 44 Spanish speaking mestizos in the Bahia de las Fumas (Bay of Smokes)
• 1850-04-04 City of Los Angeles incorporated
• 1860-12-17 Anaheim Township created in Los Angeles County

• 1871-10-24 Mob in Los Angeles, California hangs 18 Chinese
• 1876-09-06 Southern Pacific railroad line from Los Angeles to San Francisco is completed in California
• 1880-10-04 University of California founded in Los Angeles, California
• 1881-12-04 The first edition of the Los Angeles Times newspaper is published
• 1895-03-19 Los Angeles Railway is established to provide streetcar service
• 1902-04-02 "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California
• 1904-07-15 1st Buddhist temple in US forms, in Los Angeles, California
• 1906-02-22 Black evangelist William J Seymour arrives in Los Angeles, California
• 1906-04-18 The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide religious movement

• 1910-04-08 1st race at the Playa Del Ray Motordrome, 1st US auto speedway, is held near Los Angeles, California
• 1914-04-04 Film serial "Perils of Pauline" shown for the first time in Los Angeles, California

• 1922-03-31 KFI-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions
• 1922-05-04 KNX-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions
• 1923-02-22 1st successful chinchilla farm in US (Los Angeles California)

• 1927-12-15 William Edward Hickman kidnaps 12 year-old Marion Parker in Los Angeles, whom he later kills
• 1928-03-10 Christine Collins' son, Walter Collins, disappears in Los Angeles

• 1931-03-31 Brilliant Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne (43) is killed with 7 others when light plane crashes on trip from Kansas City to Los Angeles; record 105-12-5 @ .881 remains best ever
• 1932-01-15 Record snowfall of 2 inches in city of Los Angeles, California

• 1932-07-30 X Summer Olympic Games open in Los Angeles, California
• 1932-08-03 Official automatic timing & photo-finish camera for track events is used for the 1st time at Los Angeles Olympics, instrumental in changing 110m hurdles final, review gives Donald Finley bronze ahead of American Jack Keller
• 1932-08-14 X Summer Olympic Games close in Los Angeles, California
• 1935-05-06 KTM-AM in Los Angeles California changes call letters to KEHE (now KABC)

• 1937-09-10 Cleveland (Los Angeles) Rams plays their 1st NFL game, lose 28-0
• 1938-03-02 Landslides & floods cause over 200 deaths (Los Angeles California)
• 1938-12-13 Los Angeles, California freezes at 28°F

• 1940-03-21 "Rebecca" based on the book by Daphne du Maurier, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine premieres in Miami, Florida (Oscar - Best Picture 1941)

• 1946-08-23 13th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 16, Los Angeles 0 (97,380)
• 1946-09-29 Los Angeles (previously Cleveland) Rams play 1st NFL game in LA

• 1948-02-06 KNXT (now KCBS) TV channel 2 in Los Angeles, CA (CBS) 1st broadcast
• 1948-09-17 KCOP TV channel 13 in Los Angeles/Hollywood, CA (IND) begins
• 1948-10-06 KHJ TV channel 9 in Los Angeles, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
• 1949-01-01 KTTV TV channel 11 in Los Angeles, CA (MET) begins broadcasting
• 1949-01-16 KNBH (now KNBC) TV channel 4 in Los Angeles, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast
• 1949-06-03 Dragnet is 1st broadcast on radio (KFI in Los Angeles)
• 1949-09-16 KABC TV channel 7 in Los Angeles, CA (ABC) begins broadcasting

• 1949-09-26 Groundbreaking ceremony for the Hollywood sign in Hollywood, Los Angeles; old Hollywoodland sign torn down, reconstruction of a replacement begins with just Hollywood
• 1952-08-15 19th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Los Angeles 10, All-Stars 7 (88,316)
• 1952-11-26 1st 3D feature film "Bwana Devil" directed by Arch Oboler premieres in Los Angeles, advertised as "The Miracle of the Age!!! A LION in your lap! A LOVER in your arms!"
• 1953-04-29 The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV

• 1954-02-18 The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California
• 1954-05-08 1st shot-put throw over 60' (18.29 m) by American Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California
• 1956-01-22 30 people die in a train crash in Los Angeles
• 1957-01-15 Brooklyn Dodgers extend their 5-year lease on Ebbets Field by signing a new 3-year lease with real estate developer Marvin Kratter; club moves to Los Angeles the next year
• 1957-10-08 Brooklyn Dodgers announce move to Los Angeles
• 1958-02-07 Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc

• 1960-08-10 Los Angeles premiere of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh

• 1962-09-30 KMEX TV channel 34 in Los Angeles, CA (IND) begins broadcasting

• 1963-01-16 Los Angeles night club and music venue The Whiskey A-Go-Go opens (inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2006)
• 1963-03-25 KWHY TV channel 22 in Los Angeles, CA (IND) begins broadcasting

• 1965-05-03 Don Steele, begins a 40+ year radio career at KRTH (Los Angeles California)
• 1965-08-11 Watts riots begin in Southeast Los Angeles, lasts 6 days
• 1965-09-03 Preparing a move to Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels change their name to the California Angels

• 1966-03-15 Racial riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California
• 1966-06-29 KBSC (now KVEA) TV channel 52 in Corona-Los Angeles, CA begins
• 1966-10-02 Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax wins his 27th game of the season, 6-3 v Philadelphia Phillies; clinches Dodgers 3rd National League pennant in 4 years
• 1967-01-15 Super Bowl I, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Green Bay Packers beat KC Chiefs, 35-10; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
• 1967-04-21 Dodgers 1st rain out in Los Angeles (after 737 consecutive games)

• 1970-11-04 Genie, a 13-year-old feral child is found in Los Angeles, California, having been locked in her bedroom by her father for most of her life
• 1971-06-06 Air West flight 706 collides with a US Marine Corps F-4B Phantom jet over Los Angeles killing all 49 aboard the DC-6 and the pilot of the F-4B
• 1972-01-07 Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 134-90 for their 33rd straight win, the longest winning streak in major professional sports
• 1972-02-16 Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers becomes first player in NBA history to reach the career 30,000 point mark during a 110-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns

• 1972-09-18 1st black NL umpire is Art Williams for Los Angeles vs San Diego
• 1973-01-14 Super Bowl VII, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Miami Dolphins beat Washington Redskins, 14-7; MVP: Jake Scott, Miami, S
• 1973-03-20 NBC TV premiere of pilot episode of "Police Story", based on Los Angeles Police Dept. Joseph Wambaugh's writings
• 1973-05-29 Thomas Bradley elected 1st African American mayor of Los Angeles, California

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 817

• 1867-04-11 Mark Keppel, Superintendent of Los Angeles County Schools (1902-2)8, born in Butte County, California (d. 1928)
• 1881-08-06 Leo Carrillo, American actor (American Empire, Cisco Kid), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1961)
• 1886-02-08 Charlie Ruggles, American actor (Bringing Up Baby, The Patchwork Girl of Oz), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1970)
• 1887-09-15 Carlos Dávila, President of Government Junta of Chile (1932), born in Los Ángeles, Chile (d. 1955)
• 1889-06-11 Wesley Ruggles, American actor, producer and director (I'm No Angel, Arizona, Too Many Husbands), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1972)

• 1891-09-28 Myrtle Gonzalez, American silent film actress regarded as Hollywood's first Latin and Hispanic movie star actress (Missy, The Chalice of Courage, Her Great Part), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1918)
• 1891-12-07 Fay Bainter, American actress (Jezebel, Our Town, State Fair), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1968)
• 1895-08-03 Marguerite Nichols, American actress (An Old Man's Folly), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1941)
• 1895-10-20 Rex Ingram, American actor (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tarzan of the Apes, The Ten Commandments), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1969)
• 1895-11-29 Busby Berkeley [Enos], American film choreographer (42nd Street) and director (Strike Up The Band: They Made Me A Criminal), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1976)
• 1898-07-04 Johnny Lee, American actor (Song of the South, The Amos 'n' Andy Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1965)
• 1898-10-03 Leo McCarey, American film director (The Awful Truth), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1969)
• 1899-07-25 Arthur Lubin, American film director and producer (Francis The Talking Mule, Mr Ed), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1995)

• 1900-02-23 Elinor Remick Warren, American composer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1991)
• 1901-10-18 Barbara Brown, American actress, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1975)
• 1902-03-29 Onslow Stevens, American actor (This is the Life), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1977)
• 1902-05-02 Erin O'Brien-Moore, American actress (Peyton Place, Our Little Girl), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1979)
• 1903-08-27 Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet (Nocturno de los Angeles), born in Mexico City (d. 1950)
• 1904-11-17 Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American sculptor (1963 Fine Arts Medal, Noguchi table), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1988)
• 1905-01-03 Anna May Wong [Wong Liu-tsong], Chinese-American actress, 1st Asian-American movie star (Shanghai Express; Gallery of Mme Lui-Tsang), and 1st Asian-American on US currency (American Women series quarter, 2022), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1961)
• 1905-01-27 Howard McNear, American actor (The Andy Griffith Show, Anatomy of a Murder, Irma La Douce), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1969)
• 1905-03-29 (Pil Lip) Philip Ahn, American actor (Kung Fu - as "Master Kan"; Thoroughly Modern Millie), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1978)
• 1906-02-20 Gale Gordon [Charles Thomas Aldrich, Jr], American actor and comedian (Our Miss Brooks; Dennis The Menace; The Lucy Show; Here's Lucy), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1995)
• 1906-09-24 Victor Wong, American actor (Mission to Moscow, War Correspondent, King Kong), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1972)
• 1908-05-02 William Bakewell, American actor (All Quiet on the Western Front; Gone With The Wind), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1993)
• 1908-12-21 Pat Weaver, American radio advertising executive (started Today show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2002)
• 1909-10-10 Robert F. Boyle, American production designer and art director, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2010)
• 1909-10-29 Douglass Montgomery, American actor (Forbidden, Harmony Lane), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1966)
• 1909-11-26 Frances Dee, American actress (Of Human Bondage), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2004)
• 1910-01-08 Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], American actor (Jezebel, Riot Squad), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1960)
• 1910-07-11 Irene Hervey, American actress (Aunt Meg-Honey West), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1998)
• 1911-09-06 Harry Danning, American baseball player, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2004)
• 1911-12-30 Jeanette Nolan, American actress (Richard Boone Show, Virginian), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1998)
• 1912-05-11 Doodles Weaver [Winstead Sheffield Weaver], American comedian (Spike Jones & City Slickers, The Zodiac Killer), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1983)
• 1912-05-29 Iris Adrian, American actress (Blue Hawaii, Bluebeard), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1994)

• 1913-05-22 Carlyle Blackwell Jr, American actor (The Pilgrim Lady, The Triumph of the Rat), born in Los Angeles County, California (d. 1974)
• 1913-07-12 Willis Lamb, American physicist (Nobel 1955), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2008)
• 1913-08-21 Cornelius Johnson, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1936), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1946)
• 1913-08-24 Dorothy Comingore [Linda Winters], American actress (Citizen Kane), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1971)
• 1913-10-29 (Israël) "Eddie" Constantine, American-French singer and actor (Alphaville; License to Kill; Lucky Jo, It Lives Again), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1993)
• 1914-02-17 Wayne Morris, American actor and decorated WWII pilot (Paths of Glory, The Bushwackers), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1959)

• 1914-10-02 Jack Parsons, American rocket scientist and Thelemite occultist, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1952)

• 1914-11-29 Edith Tilton Penrose, American-born British economist (The Theory of the Growth of the Firm), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
• 1915-01-12 Paul Jarrico, American writer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1997)
• 1915-12-07 Leigh Brackett, American sci-fi author (Ginger Star), Los Angeles, California (d. 1978)
• 1915-12-22 Barbara Billingsley, American actress (Leave it to Beaver), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2010)
• 1916-02-13 James Griffith, American actor (Sheriff of Cochise), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1993)
• 1916-07-01 Bob Prince, American sportscaster (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1985)
• 1916-07-04 Tokyo Rose [Iva Toguri D'Aquino], American-born Japanese propagandist (WWII), born in Los Angeles (d. 2006)
• 1916-10-03 María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, Spanish marine biologist and oceanographer, born in El Ferrol, Spain (d. 2005)
• 1916-11-29 Frances "Fran" Ryan, American actress (Stripes, The Long Riders), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2000)
• 1917-05-01 Giovanni "John" Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
• 1917-06-18 Richard Boone, American actor (The Richard Boone Show, Have Gun Will Travel), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1981)
• 1917-09-22 Peter Adams [James H Adams II], American actor (Zorro, Kraft Mystery Theater, Alternative), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1987)
• 1917-12-13 Dave Street [Patrick Devlin], American actor and singer (Moonrise; I Surrender Dear; Broadway Open House), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1971)
• 1917-12-13 John Hart, American actor (The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Captain Africa), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2009)

• 1918-01-13 George "Bud" Hamilton, American film make-up artist (Westmore family), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1973)
• 1918-02-19 Fay McKenzie, American actress (The Party; Sierra Sue), and singer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019)

• 1918-06-08 John D. Roberts, American chemist, received American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (2013), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
• 1918-08-06 Norman Granz, American jazz record producer (Verve Records; Pablo Records), and impresario (Jazz at the Philharmonic), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2001)
• 1918-09-21 Rand Brooks [Arlington Rand Brooks Jr.], American actor (Gone With The Wind; Rin Tin Tin), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2003)
• 1918-09-24 Audra Lindley, American actress (Three's Company, The Relic, Ropers), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1997)
• 1918-12-02 Milton Delugg, American pianist, accordion player, composer ("Hoop-Dee-Do"; "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians"), and orchestra leader (The Tonight Show, 1966; The Paul Winchell Show; The Gong Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015) [1]
• 1919-01-13 Robert Stack, American actor (The Untouchables - "Elliot Ness"; Unsolved Mysteries; Written on the Wind), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2003)
• 1919-04-18 Virginia O'Brien, American actress and singer (Meet the People; DuBarry Was A Lady; Thousands Cheer), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2001)
• 1919-05-01 Al Zarilla, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1948; St. Louis Browns), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
• 1919-07-30 Berniece Baker Miracle, American writer (My Sister Marilyn) and half-sister of Marilyn Monroe, born in Venice Beach, California (d. 2014)
• 1919-09-02 Marge Champion (née Belcher), American dancer (Marge & Gower Champion Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2020)
• 1919-09-16 Andy Russell, American singer (Andy & Della Russell Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1992)
• 1919-11-15 Joseph Wapner, American judge (People's Court), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2017)
• 1920-06-29 Ray Harryhausen, American movie special effect artist (Clash of Titans), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
• 1920-09-01 Richard Farnsworth, American actor (Misery, Havana, Sylvester), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2000)
• 1921-01-03 John Russell, American actor (Pale Rider, Rio Bravo), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1991)

• 1921-12-31 Lynn Compton, American jurist (Sirhan Sirhan prosecutor) and commissioned officer (Easy Company, 101st Airborne), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2012)
• 1922-02-27 Jackie Kelso [John Joseph Kelson Jr], American jazz saxophonist and session musician, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2012)
• 1922-07-06 William Schallert, American actor (Patty Duke Show - "Martin"; Get Smart - "The Admiral"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
• 1922-07-19 Rachel Robinson, American social activist and humanitarian (The Jackie Robinson Foundation), born in Los Angeles, California

• 1922-08-08 Rory Calhoun [Francis Timothy McCown], American actor (Blue & Gray, How to Marry a Millionaire), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1999)
• 1922-09-15 Jackie Cooper, American actor and director (Skippy, Superman), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2011)
• 1923-02-27 Dexter Gordon, American jazz tenor saxophonist (Go!; The Other Side of 'Round Midnight), and actor ('Round Midnight), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1990)
• 1923-04-24 Jim Hardy, American NFL quarterback (LA Rams; Pro Bowl 1950), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019)
• 1923-07-19 Alex Hannum, American Basketball HOF coach (1st ABA, NBA winning coach; ABA C'ship 1969 Oakland Oaks; NBA C'ship 1958 St. Louis Hawks, 1967 Philadelphia 76ers), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2002)
• 1923-08-21 Arthur "Art" Janov, American psychologist and psychotherapist notable for creating primal therapy (The Primal Scream), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2017)
• 1923-10-27 Ned Wertimer, American actor (The Jeffersons), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2013)
• 1923-11-01 Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan operatic lyric soprano, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2005)
• 1923-11-28 Gloria Grahame [Hallward], American actress (Crossfire; Sudden Fear; Rich Man, Poor Man), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1981)
• 1923-12-04 Charles Keating, American district attorney (Los Angeles California), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2014)
• 1924-03-31 Leo Buscaglia, American psychologist known as "Dr Love" (Love), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1998)
• 1924-04-13 Jack Chick, American religious cartoonist (Chick tracts), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
• 1924-05-03 Mary Carver [Carvellas], American actress (Simon & Simon; Star Trek: Enterprise), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
• 1924-05-29 Pepper Paire, American National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (1948 AAGPBL All-Star Team), born in Los Angeles, CA (d. 2013)

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