1. In 1845, the first newspaper in California was published in San Francisco. Called the Californian, it was a weekly paper that covered local and international news.

2. On December 27, 1851, the first steamship arrived in San Diego. The steamship Pacific had sailed from San Francisco and landed at La Playa, which was then San Diego's only port.

3. In 1895, the first automobile race in California took place on a track in Los Angeles called Agricultural Park. The race was won by J. Frank Duryea, who drove a car he had built himself.

4. December 27, 1911, saw the opening of San Francisco's Municipal Railway. Initially founded as a streetcar system, it has since expanded to include buses, cable cars, and light rail.

5. In 1949, a fire broke out at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, California. The blaze killed 119 people and was later determined to have been caused by faulty wiring in the club's electrical system. The tragedy led to changes in fire safety regulations across the country.