Alta California, also known as Nueva California among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of Las Californias, but was made a separate province in 1804. Following the Mexican War of Independence, it became a territory of Mexico in April 1822 and was renamed Alta California in 1824.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, essayist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel". Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
Joshua Abraham Norton was a resident of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States", commonly known as Emperor Norton. In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexico, he took the secondary title of "Protector of Mexico".
Addison Cook Niles was an attorney and served as Nevada County judge in California from 1862–1871 and as associate justice on the Supreme Court of California from 1872–1880.
Henry Augustus Lyons was the second Chief Justice of California, appointed to the court by the California State Legislature at the formation of the state. He was the first Jewish justice on the court.
William Thompson Wallace was the 12th Chief Justice of California and the 6th Attorney General of California. He served on the Supreme Court of California from 1871 to 1879 and as Attorney General from 1856 to 1858.
Augustus Loring Rhodes was the 10th Chief Justice of California.
Run for Your Life is an American television drama television series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.
Robert Wesley Addy was an American actor of stage, television, and film.
The Alta California or Daily Alta California was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper.
Elisha Williams McKinstry was a California jurist of the nineteenth century. He served as a justice of the California Supreme Court from 1874 to 1888.
John Brooks Felton was an American jurist and politician who served as the 14th Mayor of Oakland, California.
John Ross Browne, often called J. Ross Browne, date of birth sometimes given as 1817, was an Irish-born American traveler, artist, writer and government agent. In the late 1970s, Ralston Purina opened a chain of seafood restaurants named after Browne, called J Ross Browne's Whaling Station.
Albert Fenner Kercheval was a fruit grower and poet in Los Angeles County, California, and a member of the Los Angeles Common Council during the 19th Century.
Frederick Alonzo Bee (傅列秘) was an early opponent of Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States. He was a California Gold Rush pioneer, miner, merchant, manager of the Pony Express, builder of the telegraph over the Sierras, developer of Sausalito, California, lobbyist for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, official at the Chinese Consulate, and vineyardist near Martinez, California. Bee Street in Sausalito was named after him. Bee was appointed as Consul by the Chinese government after he effectively represented the interests of the Chinese community in front of a Congressional committee and settled disputes in Chinatown. Bee acted in an official capacity to represent the interests of Chinese immigrants, and appeared in federal court cases; his efforts to preserve harmony were recognized by the Emperor of China. October, 2015 Sierra Heritage magazine featured Frederick Bee in a 4-page article written by Lj Bottjer. Sherri Bergmann wrote an article for the January 22, 2018, Mountain Democrat.
Edward Tompkins (1815–1872) was an American lawyer. He is best known for endowing a chair at the University of California where he had been elected to the board of regents.
Daniel Howard Harkins was an American stage actor. His career spanned almost 50 years and included performances around the world. He also served as a Union officer during the American Civil War.
Gideon Brooke was an American politician and businessman who was a member of the 8th Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1875. He was a local businessman in Yavapai County, Arizona Territory and served on the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors from 1870 to 1873 and again in 1877–1878. In between, he represented Prescott in the legislature at the territory capital Tucson and was chairman of the Committee on Roads and Ferries.
Ajax was a wooden, propeller-driven steamship built in 1864. She provided logistical support to the Union Army on the Atlantic coast during the American Civil War. After the war she was sent to San Francisco where she provided freight and passenger services between that city and other ports on the Pacific coast. She provided the first scheduled steamship service between the United States and Hawaii.
Jennie Phelps Purvis was an American writer, suffragist, temperance reformer, and a California pioneer. She was well-known in literary circles in her early life -counting Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and Joaquin Miller as friends- and for some years, was a prominent officer and member of the California state suffrage society.
