Page 47 - California Diving and Surfing

Key Historical Dates and Events

1826 Jedediah Strong Smith, a trapper, became the first American explorer to reach California by land.
1841 The Bidwell-Bartleson party became the first organized group of American settlers to travel to California by
land.
1846 American rebels raised the “Bear” flag of the California Republic over Sonoma. U.S. forces conquered Califor-
nia during the Mexican War.
1848 James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s mill. Mexico gave California to the United States by the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1849 The Gold Rush began.
1850, September 9 California became the 31st state.
1869 The Central Pacific, the first railroad across the Sierra Nevada, was completed.
1906 An earthquake and fire destroyed much of San Francisco.
1907 The first commercial film made in California, The Count of Monte Cristo, was completed near Los Angeles.
1915 International expositions at San Diego and San Francisco marked the opening of the Panama Canal.