Category Archives: 1907

December 8, 1907: Jewish Refugees, Fleeing Russian Persecution, Come to L.A.

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 8, 1907: Three members of the Schiffman family who are Jewish refugees from Baku, Russia: Sigmund, the father; Benjamin, 15; and Emella [or Emelia], 10. They have been brought to Los Angeles as part of the Galveston Plan, in which Jews were taken to Galveston, Texas, for dispersal throughout the West because New York was overcrowded. Continue reading →

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December 5, 1907: Man Accused of Scheme in Selling Daughter to Gypsies

Posted on December 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 5, 1907: A Los Angeles couple have a novel way of making money: Antonio Thompson and his wife sell their daughter Marie to the Gypsies, then go to court to get her back. According to statements taken in St. Louis, Marie has been sold off several times as a Gypsy princess. Continue reading →

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December 4, 1907: Shooting on Baldwin Ranch Raises Tensions Between Chinese, Latino Workers

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1907: Shooting on Lucky Baldwin’s ranch raises tensions between Chinese and Latino workers. Continue reading →

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December 3, 1907: Gunman Kills LAPD Officer; Dies in Slow Agony Awaiting the Gallows

Posted on December 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 3,1907: Daniel Meskil kills LAPD Officer Patrick Lyons, who was trying to arrest Meskil and his companion, Rolla Robe. Meskil was sentenced to be hanged at San Quentin, but died of injuries from jumping off a roof during an escape attempt. Continue reading →

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December 1, 1907: L.A. Author Writes of Life in the Hollow Earth (No Sign of Lizard People)

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1907: The Times notes a new serial “The Smoky God,” by Willis Emerson, based on the papers of Olaf Jansen, who claimed to have explored the North Pole and met the inhabitants of the Earth’s interior. “A classic in Hollow Earth Literature!” Continue reading →

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November 30, 1907: Witness Against Mexican Revolutionaries Poisoned!

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1907: A closely guarded witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries goes into convulsions after being allowed to have lunch at a local cafe. Continue reading →

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November 27, 1907: Mexican Revolutionaries Accused of Gigantic Conspiracy

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1907: A shadowy, global conspiracy of anarchists is being described in the trial of revolutionaries Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio Villareal and Librado Rivera in federal court. The fourth defendant, L. Gutierrez De Lara, was charged separately with committing larceny in Sonora, Mexico. Continue reading →

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November 23, 1907: Baby Murdered With Ax, Half-Eaten by Pigs in Garbage Heap

Posted on November 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 23, 1907: Trigger Warning — half-eaten body of baby found in ranch’s pig pen. Continue reading →

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November 22, 1907: Son Beats Father With Baseball Bat to Protect Mother; Bleeding and Shot in the Head, She Vows Eternal Love

Posted on November 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1907: Though beaten and shot in the head by her drunk husband, Ellen Larkin vowed her eternal love and said he could come home as soon as he recovered from being beaten with a baseball bat by their son to protect his mother. Continue reading →

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November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1907: Louise Williams is arrested on charges of throwing her baby from an inbound train. “She was suddenly overwhelmed with the shame of meeting her mother and sisters at Los Angeles, who had not learned of her ruin,” her attorney said. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1907: Police Capture Streetcar Bandits

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1907: Police arrest two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their routes. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1907: Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1907: An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. Continue reading →

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November 17, 1907: A #MeToo Moment in the Monkey House; Opera Tenors in Trouble

Posted on November 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 17, 1907: A detective in Central Park’s monkey house arrests Leon Cazauran, brought to New York to sing in “Thais” at Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Operahouse, and his companion, Claude Modjeska, “a copper-colored young man,” The Times says. The charge was attempting to corrupt small boys Continue reading →

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November 16, 1907: Husband in Elaborate Disguise Shoots Estranged Wife on Streetcar

Posted on November 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 16,1907: Frederick Cook faces trial for shooting his estranged wife on a streetcar, disguising himself so she wouldn’t recognize him. Continue reading →

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November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

Posted on November 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson proposes a grand boulevard for downtown Los Angeles, from a proposed Union Station ending at a new public library and art gallery. And a new City Hall. Continue reading →

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November 13, 1907: Revolutionary Defense Fund

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1907: An uproarious meeting is held at Simpson Auditorium to raise money for four Mexican revolutionaries held in the county jail. Antonio Rodriguez, who spoke in Spanish, Job Harriman and defense attorney A.R. Holston attacked the Mexican government, U.S. officials and the police. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1907: A Bad Way With Horses

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1907: John P. Shumway Jr. is badly injured when the carriage he was driving collided with the 11th Street trolley. Shumway was thrown about 20 feet, striking the pavement head-first, and the horse ran for the stable, pulling what was left of the smashed carriage, witnesses said. Continue reading →

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November 11, 1907: Cad Told the Truth Only Once — He Wasn’t Worthy of Her

Posted on November 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 11, 1907: On a trip to Topeka, Kans., to visit relatives, Lena River Packard of Los Angeles met Edgar (or Edwin) Campbell Arnold, a wealthy wholesale druggist who quickly became her constant companion and ardent suitor. Love soon blossomed and in a few months, Edgar arrived in Los Angeles to claim his bride. Continue reading →

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November 10, 1907: Story of L.A. Real Estate Is Dislocation, Dislocation, Dislocation

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 10, 1907: What sort of monument do we leave for real estate developers? For John B. Althouse, who built hundreds of homes in the Wilshire district, as well as the West Adams district and the San Gabriel Valley, the answer might be nondescript offices and vacant lots. Continue reading →

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Nov. 9, 1907: ‘We Are Revolutionists!’ Supporters Call for Release of Ricardo Flores Magon

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 9, 1907: Local sympathizers, anarchists and socialists are organizing a mass meeting to protest the imprisonment of Ricardo Flores Magon, Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez De Lara, who are being held on charges of trying to overthrow the Mexican government. Continue reading →

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