This Year in History

1892

 

1958

Public Domain photo

This Year in History - 1892

  • A pair of earthquakes hit the towns of Vacaville and Winters within two days of each other, killing one person and causing an estimated $250,000 in damage. The twin quakes are felt as far south as Fresno and Salinas and as far north as Redding.
  • In one of the closest statewide presidential elections on record, California voters support Democrat Grover Cleveland over Republican incumbent Benjamin Harrison by a mere 147 votes.
  • The Sierra Club is organized by John Muir in San Francisco. It will become one of the nation’s leading advocates for conservation and environmental stewardship.
  • Newton Booth, who served California as a governor and U.S. senator, dies at the age of 66. As governor, he oversaw the completion of the state capitol. He gave up the governorship mid-term in 1875 to join the U.S. Senate, allowing Lieutenant Gov. Romualdo Pacheco to become the first – and to date the only – Latino governor of California.