Portal:California

California
California
State
	State of California
	Flag Seal
	Map of the United States with California highlighted

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Welcome to the Portal:California. Such a lovely place.

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California (/ˌkælɪˈfɔːrniə/) is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With almost 40 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km²), it is the largest state by population and third-largest by area.

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. It organized itself and was admitted as the 31st state in 1850 as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850. It never had the status of territory.

The economy of California is the largest of any U.S. state, with an estimated 2024 gross state product of $4.172 trillion as of Q4 2024. It is the world's largest sub-national economy and, if it were an independent country, would be the fourth-largest economy in the world (putting it, as of 2025, behind Germany and ahead of Japan) when ranked by nominal GDP. The state's agricultural industry leads the nation in agricultural output, fueled by its production of dairy, almonds, and grapes. With the busiest port in the country (Los Angeles), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture, ranging from entertainment, sports, music, and fashion, have their origins in California. Hollywood in Los Angeles is the center of the U.S. film industry and one of the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world; profoundly influencing global entertainment since the 1920s. The San Francisco Bay's Silicon Valley is the center of the global technology industry. (Full article...)

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From left: Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, John Frusciante (2022)

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock, and have influenced genres including funk metal, rap metal, rap rock, and nu metal. With over 120 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time. They hold the records for most number-one singles on the American Alternative Songs charts (15), most cumulative weeks at number one (91) and most top-ten songs (28) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. They have won three Grammy Awards, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2022 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in Los Angeles by Kiedis, Flea, the guitarist Hillel Slovak and the drummer Jack Irons. Due to commitments to other bands, Slovak and Irons did not play on their 1984 self-titled debut album, which instead featured the guitarist Jack Sherman and the drummer Cliff Martinez. Slovak rejoined for their second album, Freaky Styley (1985), and Irons for their third, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987). Irons left after Slovak died of a drug overdose in June 1988. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various California-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Stanford University Oval (from Culture of California)
Image 2Bodega y Quadra led a 1775 expedition along the coast of California into the Pacific Northwest. (from History of California)
Image 3Depiction of the 1755 revolt of the Mission Indians against padre Luis Jayme at Mission San Diego de Alcalá. (from History of California)
Image 4Portrait of an "assimilated" Maidu man in Sacramento, 1867. (from History of California)
Image 5The Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. (from History of California)
Image 6Depiction of the California hide trade. (from History of California)
Image 7Map of the Butterfield Overland Mail routes through California, c. 1858. (from History of California)
Image 8The Getty Villa (from Culture of California)
Image 9Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, established in 1770, was the headquarters of the Californian mission system from 1797 until 1833. (from History of California)
Image 10The railway station in Sacramento in 1874. (from History of California)
Image 11SS California (1848), the first paddle steamer to steam between Panama City and San Francisco, as part of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. (from History of California)
Image 12Joaquín Murrieta, called the "Robin Hood of California", was a notorious outlaw during the California Gold Rush. He served as inspiration for Zorro, the famed Californian bandit-hero. (from History of California)
Image 13Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771 by padres Pedro Benito Cambón and Ángel de la Somera. (from History of California)
Image 14Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823 by order of Governor Luis Antonio Argüello, was the last Californian mission established. (from History of California)
Image 15Balthazar, Inhabitant of Northern California, an 1818 portrait of a Miwok man by artist Mikhail Tikhanov. (from History of California)
Image 16The 1562 map of the Americas, created by Spanish cartographer Diego Gutiérrez, which applied the name California for the first time. (from History of California)
Image 17Forces raising the U.S. flag over the Monterey Customhouse following their victory at the Battle of Monterey (from History of California)
Image 18Junípero Serra conducting the first mass in Monterey Bay in 1770. (from History of California)
Image 19Flag of Company A (The California 100) during the U.S. Civil War. (from History of California)
Image 20The 1835 Manifiesto a la República Mejicana, by José Figueroa, was the first book published in California (from Culture of California)
Image 21Founded by Vicente Francisco de Sarría in 1817, Mission San Rafael Arcángel, was the last mission founded during the Spanish period. (from History of California)
Image 22The Vallecitos stop of the Butterfield Overland Mail, in Julian, California. (from History of California)
Image 23The American capture of San Diego by the USS Cyane in 1846 (from History of California)
Image 24Francis Drake's 1579 landing in "New Albion" (modern-day Point Reyes); engraving by Theodor De Bry, 1590. (from History of California)
Image 25Bilingual English-Spanish sign in the Colorado Desert of Southern California. (from Culture of California)
Image 26Advertisement for sailing to California, c. 1850. (from History of California)
Image 27While slavery was abolished in California by Mexican authorities in 1829, the first California State Legislature under U.S. statehood passed the 1850 Indian Indenture Act, which allowed for the forced labor of indigenous Californians by Americans. (from History of California)
Image 28Poppies, Antelope Valley, a California Impressionist painting by Benjamin Chambers Brown (from Culture of California)
Image 29General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo reviewing his troops in Sonoma in 1846. (from History of California)
Image 30Presidio of San Francisco, founded by José Joaquín Moraga in 1776. (from History of California)
Image 31The 1846 Bear Flag Revolt declared the California Republic and prefaced the American conquest of California. (from History of California)
Image 32"Independent Gold Hunter on His Way to California", c. 1850 (from History of California)
Image 33Gaspar de Portolá served as the first Governor of the Californias and led the famed Portolá expedition of 1769-70. (from History of California)
Image 34In-N-Out burgers (from Culture of California)
Image 35Mission Santa Barbara, founded in 1786, was the first mission to be established by Fermín de Lasuén. (from History of California)
Image 36Depiction of the Donner Party heading west on the California Trail. (from History of California)
Image 37The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed at the Campo de Cahuenga in 1847 by Californio general Andrés Pico and American general John C. Frémont, proclaimed a ceasefire under an American victory. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed a year later in 1848, officially ended the Mexican–American War and formally ceded Alta California to the United States. (from History of California)
Image 38General Richard Barnes Mason was the longest serving U.S. Military Governor of California (1847–1849), overseeing California's transition into statehood. (from History of California)
Image 39Goldfields in the Sierra Nevada and Shasta Cascade. (from History of California)
Image 40Pacheco Adobe, built 1835 by Salvio Pacheco on Rancho Monte del Diablo. (from History of California)
Image 41California's first State Capitol building in San Jose, which served as the capital of California 1850–51. (from History of California)
Image 42A Southern Pacific Train at Arcade Depot, Los Angeles, 1891 (from History of California)
Image 43Portrait of a Californio in traditional vaquero clothing. Californios benefitted immensely by the establishment of the ranchos of California, following the Mexican secularization act of 1833. (from History of California)
Image 44The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the Californian missions. (from History of California)
Image 45Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents waged an extermination campaign against Indigenous Californians, known as the California genocide, resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths. (from History of California)
Image 46The Battle of Río San Gabriel, in 1847, was a decisive victory for the American campaign in Alta California. (from History of California)
Image 47Angustias de la Guerra played a crucial role in defending women's property rights during the drafting of the Constitution of California. (from History of California)
Image 48Map of Spain's Manila galleon trade routes, showing routes between the Spanish East Indies and Acapulco passing along the coast of California. (from History of California)
Image 49Presidio of Santa Barbara. (from Culture of California)
Image 50The University of California, Berkeley is the flagship school of the University of California system. (from Culture of California)
Image 51Juan Bautista de Anza led the 1774-76 Anza Expeditions. (from History of California)
Image 52The colonial coat of arms of the Californias, granted by Antonio de Mendoza, the first Viceroy of New Spain. (from History of California)
Image 53Manuel Domínguez built Domínguez Adobe on Rancho San Pedro in 1826. (from History of California)
Image 54Dividing the Light (2007), a skyspace by James Turrell at Pomona College (from Culture of California)
Image 55Concord Coach no. 251 in Wells Fargo livery in Old Town San Diego. (from History of California)
Image 56Map of the route taken by the Anza Expedition of 1775–76, from the Presidio of Tubac to San Francisco Bay. (from History of California)
Image 57California was often depicted as an island, due to the Baja California peninsula, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, such as in this 1650 map by cartographer Johannes Vingboons. (from History of California)
Image 58The Petaluma Adobe, built by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1836 on Rancho Petaluma. (from History of California)
Image 59San Francisco harbor, c. 1850–51. (from History of California)

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I've seen firsthand coming here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of desire, full of will to succeed, but with the opportunities that I had, I could make it. This is why we have to get back and bring California back to where it once was.

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Image 1

Skaggs with the Angels in 2019

Tyler Wayne Skaggs (July 13, 1991 – July 1, 2019) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher. Between 2012 and 2019, he played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels.

A native of Woodland Hills, California, and a graduate of Santa Monica High School, Skaggs was a supplemental first-round selection for the Angels in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Diamondbacks the following year as part of an exchange for pitcher Dan Haren and rose through Arizona's farm system. After two consecutive appearances at the All-Star Futures Game in 2011 and 2012, Skaggs made his major league debut on August 22, 2012, against the Miami Marlins. He remained with the Diamondbacks through the end of the season, but was optioned to the minor leagues in 2013. (Full article...)
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Lawrence in 1939

Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American accelerator physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He is known for his work on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project, as well as for founding the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A graduate of the University of South Dakota and University of Minnesota, Lawrence obtained a PhD in physics at Yale in 1925. In 1928, he was hired as an associate professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, becoming the youngest full professor there two years later. In its library one evening, Lawrence was intrigued by a diagram of an accelerator that produced high-energy particles. He contemplated how it could be made compact, and came up with an idea for a circular accelerating chamber between the poles of an electromagnet. The result was the first cyclotron. (Full article...)
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Tate for Eye Magazine, 1969

Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers, being compared favorably with Marilyn Monroe.

She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in Barabbas with Anthony Quinn. She next appeared in the British mystery horror film Eye of the Devil (1966) and co-starred in the 1967 film Don't Make Waves. Her first major role was as Jennifer North in the 1967 American drama film Valley of the Dolls, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. The role would help her to become a rising sex symbol of Hollywood, appearing in a Playboy photoshoot by filmmaker Roman Polanski, her future husband. That year, she also performed in the comedy horror film The Fearless Vampire Killers, directed by Roman Polanski. Tate's last completed film, 12+1, was released posthumously in 1969. (Full article...)
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Knight in 2007

Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (/ʃʊɡ/ SHUUG; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former NFL player, and felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.

Before founding Death Row Records, Knight played college football at UNLV as a defensive end. He briefly played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike. In 1995, Tupac Shakur began serving a prison sentence of up to 4+1⁄2 years for a sexual abuse conviction. Knight struck a deal with Shakur that October, posting his $1.4 million bail and freeing him from prison pending an appeal of his conviction, while signing him to Death Row Records. In 1996, the label released Shakur's greatest commercial success, All Eyez on Me. That September, after departing a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas, a group that included Knight and Shakur assaulted Orlando Anderson, a Southside Compton Crips gang member. Three hours later, someone shot into the car Knight was driving, injuring Knight and fatally wounding Shakur. (Full article...)
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Martin with the Yankees in 1954

Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a scrappy infielder who made considerable contributions to the championship Yankee teams of the 1950s, he then built a reputation as a manager who would initially make bad teams good, before ultimately being fired amid dysfunction. In each of his stints with the Yankees he managed them to winning records before being fired by team owner George Steinbrenner or resigning under fire, usually amid a well-publicized scandal such as Martin's involvement in an alcohol-fueled fight.

Martin was born in a working-class section of Berkeley, California. His skill as a baseball player gave him a route out of his home town. Signed by the Pacific Coast League Oakland Oaks, Martin learned much from Casey Stengel, the man who would manage him both in Oakland and in New York, with whom he enjoyed a close relationship. Martin's spectacular catch of a wind-blown Jackie Robinson popup late in Game Seven of the 1952 World Series saved that series for the Yankees, and he was the hitting star of the 1953 World Series, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the Yankee victory. He missed most of two seasons, 1954 and 1955, after being drafted into the Army, and his abilities never fully returned; the Yankees traded him after a brawl at the Copacabana club in New York during the 1957 season. Martin bitterly resented being traded, and did not speak to Stengel for years, a time during which Martin completed his playing career with various teams. (Full article...)
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DiCaprio in 2019

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (/diˈkæprioʊ, dɪ-/ ; Italian: [diˈkaːprjo]; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. As of 2019,[update] his films have grossed over $7.2 billion worldwide, and he has been placed eight times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors.

Born in Los Angeles, DiCaprio began his career in the late 1980s by appearing in television commercials. He had a recurring role in the sitcom Parenthood (1990–1991), and had his first major film part as author Tobias Wolff in This Boy's Life (1993). He received critical acclaim and his first Academy Award nomination for playing a developmentally disabled boy in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). DiCaprio achieved international stardom with the star-crossed romances Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997). After the latter became the highest-grossing film in the world at the time, he reduced his workload for a few years. In an attempt to shed his image of a romantic hero, DiCaprio sought roles in other genres, including the 2002 crime dramas Catch Me If You Can and Gangs of New York; the latter marked the first of his many successful collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. (Full article...)
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Snoop Dogg in 2023

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (/ˈbroʊdɪs/ BROH-dis; born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. Known for his signature drawled lyrics—which often use melodic rhyming, repetition, word play, laconic phrases, syncopation and alliteration—his music often addresses the lifestyle and culture of the West Coast and social issues such as gun violence and
stability for the youth. His initial fame dates back to 1992 following his guest appearance on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and later on Dre's debut album, The Chronic, that same year, including "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang". Snoop Dogg has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States, and 35 million albums worldwide. His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Sports Emmy Awards, and 17 Grammy Award nominations.

Produced entirely by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg's debut studio album, Doggystyle (1993) was released by Death Row Records and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Selling 806,000 copies in its first week, the album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the following year and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin and Juice". He was the lead performer on Death Row's soundtrack album for the 1994 short film Murder Was the Case, wherein Snoop Dogg made his acting debut. He has since appeared in other films and popular media. His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996), debuted atop the chart and received double platinum certification. (Full article...)
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Jolie in 2024

Angelina Jolie (/dʒoʊˈliː/ joh-LEE; born Angelina Jolie Voight, /ˈvɔɪt/, June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award and three Golden Globe Awards, she has been named Hollywood's highest-paid actress multiple times.

Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in Lookin' to Get Out (1982). Her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993), followed by her first leading role in Hackers (1995). After starring in the television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), Jolie won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted. Her portrayal of the titular heroine in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) established her as a leading lady. Jolie's success continued with roles in the action films Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), and Salt (2010), as well as in the fantasy film Maleficent (2014) and its 2019 sequel. She also had voice roles in the animated films Shark Tale (2004) and Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016), and gained praise for her dramatic performances in A Mighty Heart (2007), Changeling (2008), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Maria (2024). (Full article...)
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Oppenheimer in 1944

J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer /ˈɒpənhaɪmər/ OP-ən-hy-mər; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in overseeing the development of the first nuclear weapons.

Born in New York City, Oppenheimer obtained a degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1925 and a doctorate in physics from the University of Göttingen in Germany in 1927, studying under Max Born. After research at other institutions, he joined the physics faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was made a full professor in 1936. (Full article...)
Image 10
Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the second most profitable team in baseball from 1946 to 1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. In 2008, O'Malley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to and influence on the game of baseball.

O'Malley's father, Edwin Joseph O'Malley, was politically connected. Walter, a University of Pennsylvania salutatorian, went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), and he used the combination of his family connections, his personal contacts, and both his educational and vocational skills to rise to prominence. First, he became an entrepreneur involved in public works contracting, and then he became an executive with the Dodgers. He progressed from being a team lawyer to being both the Dodgers' owner and president, and he eventually made the business decision to relocate the Dodgers franchise. Although he moved the franchise, O'Malley is known as a businessman whose major philosophy was stability through loyalty to and from his employees. (Full article...)
Image 11

Hanna in 1977

William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician. Hanna and Joseph Barbera co-created Tom and Jerry and founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera, while also providing the vocal effects for the former's title characters.

Hanna joined the Harman and Ising animation studio in 1930 and steadily gained skill and prominence while working on cartoons such as Captain and the Kids. In 1937, while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hanna met Barbera and formed a working relationship. In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, creating or producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. In 1967, Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million (equivalent to about $113 million today) but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991. At that time, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn was merged with Time Warner in 1996; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors. (Full article...)
Image 12

Young in 2002

John Watts Young (September 24, 1930 – January 5, 2018) was an American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He became the 9th person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

Before becoming an astronaut, Young received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and joined the U.S. Navy. After serving at sea during the Korean War he became a naval aviator and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. As a test pilot, he set several world time-to-climb records. Young retired from the Navy in 1976 with the rank of captain. (Full article...)
Image 13

Bergen in 2025

Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on Murphy Brown (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama Boston Legal (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Starting Over (1979) and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982).

Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of Vogue before she made her screen debut in the film The Group (1966). She starred in The Sand Pebbles (1966), Soldier Blue (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Wind and the Lion (1975). She made her Broadway debut in the 1984 play Hurlyburly and starred in the revivals of The Best Man (2012) and Love Letters (2014). From 2002 to 2004, she appeared in three episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. Her other film roles include Miss Congeniality (2000), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), The Women (2008), Bride Wars (2009), Book Club (2018) and Let Them All Talk (2020). (Full article...)
Image 14

Official portrait, 2004

Dianne Emiel Feinstein (née Goldman; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

A San Francisco native, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955. She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and immediately became the board's first female president upon her appointment in 1970. In 1978, during a third stint as the board's president, the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk drew national attention. Feinstein succeeded Moscone as mayor and became the first woman to serve in that position. During her tenure, she led the renovation of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Despite a recall attempt in 1983, Feinstein was a popular mayor and was named the most effective mayor in the country by City & State in 1987. (Full article...)
Image 15

Newsom in 2024

Gavin Christopher Newsom (/ˈnjuːsəm/ NEW-səm; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 2019 as the 49th lieutenant governor of California and from 2004 to 2011 as the 42nd mayor of San Francisco.

Newsom graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in political science. Afterward, he founded the boutique winery PlumpJack Group in Oakville, California, with billionaire heir and family friend Gordon Getty as an investor. The company grew to manage 23 businesses, including wineries, restaurants, and hotels. Newsom began his political career in 1996, when San Francisco mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the city's Parking and Traffic Commission. Brown then appointed Newsom to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors the next year and Newsom was first elected to the board in 1998. (Full article...)

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... that California rancher Frank O'Connor could grow Lipstick and Halloween in a greenhouse?
... that the Phoenixonian Institute was the first African-American high school in California?
... that the Federal Aviation Administration uses the brightly lit Oakland California Temple as a navigation beacon, despite complaints about light pollution?
... that The Chinese in America documents how people in California, during the gold rush era, mailed their laundry to Hong Kong for cleaning?
... that some California schoolchildren build dioramas when learning about their state's Spanish missions?
... that the San Diego Trough Fault Zone can produce an earthquake that devastates the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego, California?
... that in 1948, Thomas Yarborough became the first African American to be elected as a city council member in California?
... that American football linebacker Segun Olubi grew up in New Jersey, Minnesota, Arizona, England, and California, and attended four different colleges in Idaho, California, and Arkansas?

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Hollywood Sign

Credit: Oreos

The Hollywood Sign is a famous landmark in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles, California, spelling out the name of the area in 50 ft (15.2 m) high white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition after its initial purpose had been fulfilled.

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Credit: Emin Eshacker

State Route 166 is a part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System. It starts off in Guadalupe in northwestern Santa Barbara County and heads east towards the largest city on its eastern journey: Santa Maria.

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List of California state agencies • Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments • California Attorney General • California State Board of Education • CDF Aviation Management Program • CalPERS • California Air Resources Board • California Commission for Economic Development • California Department of Boating and Waterways • California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection • California Department of Insurance • California Insurance Commissioner election, 2006 • California Legislative Analyst's Office • California Military Department • California Public Utilities Commission • California Speaks • California State Lands Commission • California State Lottery • California executive branch • CaliforniaVolunteers • California State Capitol • List of California District Attorneys • Districts in California • State of California enterprise IT systems • Department of Fair Employment and Housing • California Geological Survey • Governor of California • 11-99 Foundation • California Institute for Regenerative Medicine • California Insurance Commissioner • Joint Powers Authority • Local Agency Formation Commission • Secretary of State of California • List of law enforcement agencies in California • California State Controller • California State Police • California Department of Transportation • California State Treasurer • Westlands Water District

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State facts

Nicknames: The Golden State
Capital: Sacramento
Total area: 163,696 mi²
- Land: 156,002 mi²
- Water: 7,694 mi²
Highest elevation: 14,505 ft (Mount Whitney)
Population 39,250,017 (2016 est)
Admission to the Union: September 9, 1850 (31^st)

State symbols:

Insect: California Dogface Butterfly
Bird: California Valley Quail
Fossil: Saber-toothed cat
Dance: West Coast Swing
Colors: Blue & Gold
Animal: California Grizzly Bear
Flower: California Poppy
Gem: Benitoite
Rock: Serpentine
Fish: California Golden Trout
Songs: I Love You, California
Tree: California Redwood
Mineral: Gold

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Related WikiProjects

Main Project

California

Sub-projects

Southern California • Los Angeles • San Francisco Bay Area • Santa Barbara County • California State Highways • California County Routes • University of California • California State University

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Subportals

Related portals

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Things you can do

Create Requested California Articles
Help assess articles supported by WikiProject California
Help suggest content for usage in this portal by using the archive links to obtain instructions
Write California-related topics if you see a redlink which is worthy of an article
Cleanup and expand stub-class articles relating to California