Residents of San Francisco were jolted from their beds at 5:12 on the morning of April 18, 1906, by a powerful tremor. Seconds later, a massive earthquake devastated the city. The quake lasted less than a minute, but its impact was disastrous. Besides the immediate damage, it ignited several fires that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks. About 3,000 people were killed and 400,000 were left homeless. The second San Francisco Mint remained standing and served as an inspiration as the crippled city rebuilt. This “Granite Lady” is now a museum.

In other news of 1906:

• President Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in mediating a settlement ending the bloody war between Russia and Japan.
• Roosevelt visited Panama, making him the first sitting U.S. President to travel to a foreign country.
• The President denounced “muckrakers” in the U.S. press, borrowing the term from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
• The first federal U.S. penitentiary was completed at Leavenworth, Kansas.
• Willis Carrier received a patent for the world’s first air conditioner.
• Will Keith Kellogg founded the Kellogg’s cereal company in Battle Creek, Michigan.
• China prohibited the opium trade.
• A typhoon and tsunami killed an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong.
• A coal dust explosion killed more than 1,000 miners in France.
• London was chosen to host the 1908 Olympics.
• The Chicago White Sox upset the heavily favored Chicago Cubs in the first crosstown World Series. The only downside for the White Sox came when their flagpole broke during pennant raising ceremonies.

Back ↵