By 3000 BCE, the area was occupied by the Hokan-speaking people of the Milling Stone Period who fished, hunted sea … See more

In 1542 and 1602, the first Europeans to visit the region were Captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and Captain Sebastián Vizcaíno. The first permanent non-native presence began when the Portolá expedition arrived … See more

Mexico's independence from Spain on September 28, 1821, was celebrated with great festivity throughout Alta California. No longer subjects of the king, people were now ciudadanos, citizens with rights under the law. In t… See more

According to historian Mary P. Ryan, "The U.S. army swept into California with the surveyor as well as the sword and quickly translated Spanish and Mexican practices into cartographic representations." Under colonial law… See more

Hollywood has been synonymous worldwide with the film industry for over a hundred years. It was incorporated as the City of Hollywood in 1903, but merged into LA in 1910. In the 1900s movie makers from New York f… See more

Beginning November 6, 1961, Los Angeles suffered three days of destructive brush fires. The Bel-Air—Brentwood and Santa Ynez fires destroyed 484 expensive homes and 21 other buildings along with 15,810 acres (64 k… See more

The population of Los Angeles reached more than 100,000 with the 1900 census, more than a million in 1930, more than two million in 1960, and more than 3 million in 1990. Los Angeles surpassed Chicago to become th… See more