Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1955
In Anaheim, Disneyland opens to bad press, as crowds swarm the theme park, temperatures hit
101°F (38°C), ladies' high-heeled shoes sink into the still-soft asphalt and drinking fountains don't
work.
1965
It takes 20,000 National Guards to quell the six-day Watts Riots in LA, which cause death, devast-
ation and over $40 million in property damage. That same year, Rodney King is born.
1968
Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in LA by
Palestinian immigrant and anti-Zionist Sirhan Sirhan, who remains in jail in San Diego County
today.
1969
UCLA professor Len Kleinrock sends data from a computer in Los Angeles to another at Stanford
University, typing just two characters before the system crashes. The internet is born.
1977
San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk becomes the first openly gay man elected to US public of-
fice. Milk sponsors a gay-rights bill before his 1978 murder by political opponent Dan White.
1992
Three of four white police officers charged with beating African American motorist Rodney King
are acquitted by a predominantly white jury. Following the trial, Los Angeles endures six days of
riots.
2004
Google's IPO raises a historic $1.67 billion at $85 per share. Since then share prices have in-
creased over 900% and the company's market value now exceeds $350 billion.
