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California's earliest residents were Native Americans. Prior to the mid-18th century, several native peoples dominated the area, most notably those from the Tongva nation.
The earliest key date in the development of Los Angeles is August 2, 1769. It was on that afternoon that a group of Spanish explorers from the east, led by Juan Crespi and Captain Gaspar de Portola, entered what came to be known as Los Angeles, in the area around Elysian Park. It was then that Crespi realized the potential the area had to become a sizable settlement. Then in 1771, Junipero Serra created the Mission San Gabriel Archangel in the present day San Gabriel Valley. It wasn't until 1781 that the town was founded and named "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula"--quite a mouthful to say and subsequently shortened to Los Angeles.
Throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was only a small farm town that remained part of Mexico, until the Mexican-American War. On March 9th, 1842, Francisco Lopez discovered gold in the Santa Clarita Valley and by 1845, U.S. troops began battling for control of California. On January 9, 1847, Commodore Stockton recaptured Los Angeles for the third and final time, and just days later Mexican general Andres Pico surrendered California to U.S. General John Fremont. A subsequent boundary dispute ensued as to where the borders of the city and county should be, but on April 4, 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated, with California officially entering the union five months later.
The late 1800s and early 1900s saw Los Angeles grow exponentially. One reason for this was the railroads, which finally reached Los Angeles from the East. The railroads resulted in a major expansion of economy and population, as evidenced by the fact that L.A.'s population doubled in the last decade of the 1800s and tripled in the first decade of the 1900s. In 1913, William Mulholland built an aqueduct, which allowed water to be brought to Los Angeles from 200 miles north. This important event, coupled with the earlier railroad boom, is considered to be largely responsible for L.A.'s growth into a major population center.
By the 1920s, many industries were beginning to stake their claim in the city. The most popular of these industries was the budding film industry. Filmmakers from the East came to Southern California for its eternal sunshine and varied landscape. Where else in America could they find perfect weather and largely empty surrounding land, as well as mountains, lakes, forests and beaches all within an hour's drive? As movies and movie-making became more ingrained in American culture during the 1940s and 50s, millions began flocking to L.A. in hopes of becoming a star and striking it rich. By the mid-to-late 1950s, the population of L.A. had reached two million and appeared to be going nowhere but up.
As the city grew, more people meant more problems. In 1943, a clash between sailors, marines and local Hispanic gangs broke out, known as the Zoot Suit Riots. For several days and nights, downtown Los Angeles was transformed into a battle-zone. Although the riots were finally quelled by police, this would not be the last time the city witnessed large-scale urban unrest. Devastating race riots erupted in 1965 and again in 1992, after the Rodney King verdict, giving the city its reputation for being a hotbed of racial tensions. Riots, however, weren't the only problems that affected the history of Los Angeles. Runaway air pollution and the damage caused by several earthquakes —the largest and most memorable of which was the Northridge earthquake in 1994, with a total magnitude of 6.7 - have also given the city its fair share of crises to deal with over the years. But with the 21st century has come an increase in the improvement and gentrification in many parts of the city.
Certain things can always be counted on to thrive in L.A.: cultural diversity, beautiful weather, the well-known traffic on the 405 Freeway, and eager souls arriving each day to the City of Angels in search of their own piece of heaven.
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