Category Archives: 1907

October 15, 1907: Fire Threatens Orpheum

Posted on October 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 15, 1907: Fire breaks out in the four-story building housing the Orpheum Theater and the Elks Hall. Entertainer Minnie Seligman made the smoke and sound of fire engines part of her act. Continue reading →

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October 14, 1907: ‘In 9 cases out of 10, Where There Is a Shooting, There Is Also a Woman’

Posted on October 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 14, 1907: There was Oscar E. Otto, a young chauffeur with a hot temper and a gun. There was his 19-year-old wife, the former Irene E. Jester, “a silly little creature with futile tears and French heels.” And there was J.C. Henderson, another chauffeur with a gun and better aim or more luck. Continue reading →

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October 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

Posted on October 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 13, 1907: Gunmen imported from out of town by the Hop Sing Tong entered the tailor shop of Lem Sing at 806 Juan St. in Chinatown and under the pretense of having some clothing made, wounded him and killed Wong Goon Kor. Continue reading →

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October 12, 1907: Contractor Leaves Dead Dogs in Street to Break Contract; A Foul Wind From Fertilizer Plant Blows Over Boyle Heights

Posted on October 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 12, 1907: After repeated complaints to police because half a dozen dead dogs had laid in the streets for two weeks, the health department tried to charge C.T. Hanson, who held the contract for removing carcasses. But according to the city attorney, Hanson was only guilty of not abiding by his contract and nothing more. Continue reading →

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Col. John Bryson, 1819 – 1907 | Ex-Mayor Was Millionaire L.A. Developer

Posted on October 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 11, 1907: John Bryson, self-made millionaire and developer of the Bryson Block, dies. He had separated from his wife and was almost constantly in the company of his longtime nurse, Gladys Lamberton. He was hurriedly buried in a secret ceremony at Rosedale Cemetery. Continue reading →

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Oct. 10, 1907: The Want Ads

Posted on October 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 10, 1907: George Sumi’s Japanese Employment Agency. Most reliable in the city. Continue reading →

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October 9. 1907: Trellis, The Confidence Woman

Posted on October 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 9, 1907: She was known as Trellis C. Harris or Trellis Blessing—or Edna Hall. But her method was always the same. She would commit some theft, then fake an epileptic fit, spitting up blood from a capsule hidden in her mouth. Continue reading →

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October 8, 1907: Sewage-Eating Fish Spread Disease at Local Markets, Health Officials Say

Posted on October 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. October 8, 1907Los AngelesHealth officials and a deputy district attorney have joined to urge the Board of Supervisors to ban fishing within a half-mile of the city’s Hyperion line that pours sewage … Continue reading →

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October 5, 1907: White Neighbors Fight Hilliard Stricklin’s Retirement Home for Blacks

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 5, 1907: Hilliard Stricklin wanted to do something for his fellow Blacks: A facility for the elderly and orphaned children, naming it in honor of his mother. White neighbors thought he was bluffing until workers showed up on the site. And then they were furious. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, African Americans | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

October 3, 1907: The Mystery of Felt Lake

Posted on October 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 3, 1907: Chester Silent, one of the most promising students at Stanford, disappears…. Continue reading →

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October 2, 1907: Patient Dies After Chiropractor Treats Spine With Mallet and Drill

Posted on October 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 2, 1907: Thomas H. Storey, an unlicensed chiropractor, has a patient lie with his head on one chair and his knees on another. Storey gets on the patient’s back so all his weight is resting on the spine. Next, he puts his knee in the small of the patient’s back. Then he twists the neck. Continue reading →

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September 30, 1907: The Quick Brown Fox and Friends From A to Z

Posted on September 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 30, 1907: A list of sentences using all the letters of the alphabet. “Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs seems to have fallen out of favor.” Continue reading →

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September 28, 1907: L.A. Motorcycle Club Backs Ban on Loud Pipes

Posted on September 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 28, 1907: Members of the Los Angeles Motorcycle Club have written to officials in support of a measure banning loud exhaust pipes on motorcycles. Continue reading →

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September 27, 1907: Child Welfare Officer Cites Ringling Bros. for Underage Performers

Posted on September 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 27, 1907: A child welfare officer cites Ringling Bros. for having underage performers — on the circus’ last day in town. Continue reading →

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September 26, 1907: Disharmony for Conductor of Long Beach Band

Posted on September 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 26, 1907: Marco Vessella, conductor of Long Beach’s Royal Italian Band, has had nothing but trouble with Special Officer W.D. Cason after firing him from his job as ticket taker. On one September evening, Vessella and a young lady were waiting for a streetcar when Cason taunted him, calling him “spaghetti face” and “a longhaired dago.” Continue reading →

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September 25, 1907: The Melancholy Prizefighter

Posted on September 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 25, 1907: Meet Joe Gans, a boxer whose name once echoed among fans of the ring now buried in the dusts of sporting history. Gans may well have been one of the finest fighters whoever lived. Continue reading →

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September 24, 1907: A Poem on the First Day in L.A.

Posted on September 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 24, 1907: Walter Adolf Roberts writes a poem about his first day in Los Angeles. Continue reading →

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September 23, 1907: Rev. J.L. Griffin Baptizes 5 in Echo Park Lake

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1907: The Rev. J.L. Griffin baptizes five believers in Echo Park Lake as 2,000 watch. Continue reading →

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September 22, 1907: No Divorce, Judge Says, You Knew He Was a Bellboy When You Married Him!

Posted on September 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 22, 1907: Judge tells businesswoman she can’t have a divorce from her younger, wastrel husband: “This defendant knew the plaintiff could not support her when she married him….She went into the investment and she must abide by it.” Continue reading →

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September 21, 1907: 26 Men Deported to China

Posted on September 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 21, 1907: 26 men are deported to China, 11of them from Los Angeles. Most Chinese men in Los Angeles have the proper paperwork to be in the United States, an immigration official says. Continue reading →

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