1850 - Thomas Day founded Thomas Day Company, cutlery business, on Montgomery Street in San Francisco; expanded into plumbing, gas fittings to meet needs of Gold Rush clientele; changed focus to lighting industry; became designer, supplier of hand-crafted lighting fixtures; provided first fueled street lanterns to San Francisco; 1870s - first to convert gas lamps to electric lamps; 1906 - renamed Phoenix Day Company, operated by Joseph Guglielmo; serviced needs of lighting fixtures, metalworking; 1958 - Pat and Lawrence Fambini (Guglielmo's niece, nephew) took over; 2007 - owned, operated by Tony Brenta (Guglielmo's great grand nephew); 6th oldest operating business in San Francisco.

1856 -  Joshua Hendy established Joshua Hendy Iron Works in San Francisco to construct mining and stamp mill machinery (had built Benicia Sawmill on Navarro River in Mendocino County in 1853 with Samuel Duncan; California's first redwood lumber mill; had sold his share to Alexander Duncan in 1855); supplied stamp mills to mining operations around world; 1882 - incorporated; 1891 - Samuel and John Hendy (nephews) took over; 1906 - re-established in Sunnyvale, CA, after earthquake, on free land provided as enticement by local government; 1940 - controlling interest acquired by Charles E. Moore, with financial support of  Six Companies; manufactured marine steam engines for emergency shipbuilding program during WW II; 1943 - reduced time required to manufacture marine steam engine from 4,500 hours to 1,800 hours; 11,500 employees;  supplied engines for 754 of America's 2,751 Liberty ships (28% of total); more than any other plant in country; 1947 - acquired by Westinghouse Corporation; 1996 - acquired by Northrop Grumman, renamed Northrop Grumman Marine Systems.

1868 - Anthony Zellerbach began selling paper goods (stationary, bags, wrapping) from horse drawn wagon in San Francisco, CA; established A. Zellerbach & Sons, Wholesale Paper Dealers and Stationers, at 416-426 Sansome St.; 1924 - Isadore Zellerbach (son) founded Zellerbach Corporation; 1928 - merged with Crown Willamette Paper Company (formed in 1914 by merger of Crown Columbia Paper Company, Willamette Pulp and Paper Company), formed Crown Zellerbach; 1986 - acquired by James River Company; 1997 - merged with Fort Howard Paper, formed Fort James Corporation; 2000 - acquired by Georgia-Pacific Corp., became leading global producer of tissue products.

1883 - Charles Henry Holt, Benjamin Holt established Stockton Wheel Company in warm, dry Stockton, CA (Charles had formed C.H. Holt and Co. in 1869 in San Francisco, a West Coast branch of family’s New Hampshire-based wagon-making business; William Harrison Holt, Ames Frank Holt joined Charles in 1871, formed Holt Brothers Manufacturing; produced wagon wheels made from imported, seasoned Eastern hardwood but climate too cold, damp for wheel fabrication; William and Ames Holt sold ownership to brothers); expanded into agricultural, mechanical implements; 1886 - produced 'Link Belt Combined Harvester', first combine (used flexible chain belts rather than gears to transmit power from ground wheels to working parts of machine); 1892 - incorporated as Holt Manufacturing Company; wheel business continued as side line to caterpillar-style tractors (crawlers) - ultimately became Caterpillar Tractor; 1932 - Stockton Wheel Company acquired by Robert Nephew; 1954 - acquired by James Barry; 1957 - acquired by Roger Kitto; 1977 - acquired by Frank Mauro, Jr.

1899 - Edward and Leonard McRoskey ,of St. Louis and Chicago, brought mattress making equipment to California to sell to manufacturers; became manufacturers; April 12, 1927 - Edward McRoskey Mattress Co. registered "Airflex Quality Mattresses at Factory Prices Edward McRoskey" trademark first used October 27, 1925 (mattresses, bed springs, pillows, and couches); 1930s - Leonard and Robert McCroskey (Leonard's sons) joined company; October 23, 1934 - Edward L. McRoskey received two patents for a "Mattress Tufting Machine"; 2007 - Robin McRoskey Azevedo (granddaughter, Robert's daughter) President.

June 24, 1900 - Oliver Lippincott became first motorist in Yosemite National Park, in his Locomobile steamer.

May 16, 1903  -  George Wymann began first transcontinental motorcycle trip from San Francisco.

August 31, 1903 - Packard automobile completed a 52-day journey from San Francisco to New York, became first car to cross U.S. under its own power.

March 7, 1911 - Willis S. Farnsworth and William H. Reed, of Petaluma, CA, received a patent for a "Magazine Hinge and Conveyer"; coin-operated locker; assigned to Coin Controlled Lock Co.

May 3, 1913 - Edward Hughes (seller of wood, coal, grain hay), Charles Husband (bookkeeper at paper-bag factory), William Hussey (miner, only one with any practical knowledge of chemistry), Rufus Myers (lawyer), Archibald Taft (president of local Harbor Bank) invested $100 apiece to set up Electro-Alkaline Company, America's first commercial-scale liquid bleach factory in Oakland, CA; plan was to convert brine available in abundance from nearby salt ponds of San Francisco Bay into sodium hypochlorite bleach, using a sophisticated and technologically demanding process of electrolysis; August 13, 1913 - Abel M. Hamblet, engineer for  equipment supplier, suggested name "Clorox" for new product, from words "chlorine" and "sodium hydroxide" (combination formed bleach's active ingredient); 1914 - named their product Clorox® bleach; February 16, 1915 - Electro-Alkaline Company registered "Clorox Liquid Bleach Cleanser Germicide" trademark first used July 15, 1914 (bleaching, cleansing, and antiseptic compounds); 1916 - distribution throughout San Francisco Bay Area; sales of $14,237; 1921 - went public; 1922 - reincorporated as Clorox Chemical Corporation; 1928 - name changed to Clorox Chemical Co.; 1953 - first television commercials aired; largest share of U.S. household bleach market;  1957 - name changed to The Clorox Company; annual sales over $40 million; August 1957 - acquired by Procter & Gamble Company; January 2, 1969 - company gained full, formal autonomy as publicly held corporation (U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Procter & Gamble had to sell The Clorox Company because of monopoly in production, sale of household liquid bleaches); 1974 - minority position acquired by Henkel to facilitate production, sale of products for household, bulk consumers in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico.

July 29, 1913 - William L. Murphy, of San Francisco, CA, received a patent for a "Disappearing Bed" ("...an apparatus whereby a bed can be moved through an opening which is of less width than the width of the bed...so that the bed may be moved through the opening to lie on either side of the wall, and the opening may be closed by a sliding door when the bed is in either position..."); assigned to Murphy Wall Bed Company; December 30, 1913 - received a second patent for a "Disappearing Bed"; January 6, 1914 - received third patent for a "Disappearing Bed"; June 27, 1916 - received a design patent for a "Design for a Bed"; March 6, 1917 - received a patent for a "Folding Bed"; 1918 - invented pivot bed (pivoted on doorjamb of  dressing closet, lowered into sleeping position); 1925 - company moved corporate headquarters to New York City, renamed Murphy Door Bed Company, Inc.; June 13, 1978 - Murphy Wall Bed Company registered "Murphy In-A-Dor" trademark first used August 6, 1913 (full size bed through ordinary closet door); 1983 - Clark W. Murphy (grandson) took over; 1989 - appellate court held that term 'Murphy bed' was no longer entitled to trademark protection because  public perceived it as generic term for bed that folds into wall; January 1990 - name changed to Murphy Bed Co. Inc.,

February 22, 1920 - First artificial rabbit used at dog race track in Emeryville, California.

May 4, 1920 - Harry A. Miller, of Los Angeles, CA, received a design patent for a "Design for an Automobile"; race car design (many features incorporated into race cars in following decades: aluminum pistons and engine blocks, off-beat carburetors, inter-cooled superchargers, front-wheel drive; first man to concentrate exclusively on building race cars for sale; 1926 - built Miller 91 for Indy 500 (produced minimum of 230hp at 7,000rpm, could be boosted to 300hp at 8,500rpm, 3.3hp per cubic inch vs. today's super-charged Indy cars, produce 4.5hp per cubic inch).

December 30, 1940 - California's first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, was officially opened.

1948 - Edith Heath founded Heath Ceramics, American potter, in Sausalito, CA, to produce ceramic products that resist trends, be loved and functional over lifetime and to make process, people, values of products tangible to buyers; used proprietary clay body development (one firing at lower temperature than customarily used to reach same levels of durability); Gump’s of San Francisco bought her tile and dinnerware for sale at its store, following one-woman show at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor; 2003 - acquired by Robin Petravic, Catherine Bailey.

1948 - Arthur"Spud"MelinandRichardKnerrfoundedWham-O as leading designer/distributor of innovative, high-quality recreational activity products; introduced Slingshot, original product from which the company derived its name (sound a slingshot made when its projectile struck a target); 1955 - bought design rights to "Pluto Platter", plastic flying disc created in 1948 by Los Angeles building inspector Walter Frederick Morrison, partner Warren Franscioni (watched Yale University students toss pie tins from the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, CT founded in 1895 by William Russell Frisbie); January 13, 1957 - began production of "Pluto Platter"; August 1958 - Frisbie Pie Company closed; modified saucer, renamed  Frisbee; introduced Hula Hoop (after a bamboo ring used by Australian children for exercise); September 30, 1958 - Walter Frederick Morrison, of La Puente, CA, received a design patent for a "Flying Toy", frisbee; October 16, 1962 - Wham-O Mfg. Co. (San Gabriel, CA) registered "Hula-Hoop" trademark first used May 21, 1958 (plastic toy hoops);

December 26, 1967 - Edward E. Headrick, of La Canada, CA, received a patent for a "Flying Saucer" ("related to aerodynamic toys to be thrown through the air and in particular to flying saucers for use in throwing games"); frisbee; assigned to Wham-O Manufacturing Co.; May 26, 1969 - Wham-O Mfg. Co. registered "Frisbee" trademark fist used July, 8, 1957 ("toy flying saucers for toss games"); 1982 - Kransco Group Companies bought Wham-O for $12 million; 1994 - Mattel bought WHAM-O from Kransco; 1997 - Mattel sold assets of Wham-O (sales of $18 million) at auction to group including Charterhouse Group, Seven Hills Partners; 2006 - Charterhouse Group sold Wham-O (sales of $80 million) to affiliate of Cornerstone Overseas Investments Ltd. (Hong Kong).

1949 - Frank J. Zamboni, inventor and mechanic, received patent for "Model A Zamboni Ice Resurfacer" (Zamboni and brother, Lawrence, built 20,000-square-foot enclosed ice skating rink in Paramount, CA in 1939; transformed tractor in 1942 to scrape, smooth ice in single pass); May 4, 1965 - Frank J. Zamboni & Company, Inc. registered "Zamboni" trademark first used in July 1962 (resurfacing machines machines and dump attachments therefor).

March 14, 1950 - Permanente Metals Corporation registered "Kaiser" trademark first used November 23, 1946 (aluminum products-namely. pig, ingot, strip, coil, [general utility sheet and plate, aircraft ] sheet and plate [and sheet] including flat corrugated and coiled sheet).

March 20, 1956 - Candido Jacuzzi, of Lafayette, CA, received a patent for a "Hydrotherapy Apparatus" ("improved circulator pump assembly adapted to be employed in both tanks and tubs for the treatment of patients and to be used by non-patients for the therapeutic effects to be derived from hydro-massage"); assigned to Jacuzzi Bros., Inc.; J-300, portable pump, sold to hospitals and schools for treatment of arthritis symptoms; March 15, 1966 - Jacuzzi Bros., Incorporated registered "Jacuzzi" trademark first used in October 1958 (skimmers and fittings, pumps, filters); April 19, 1966 - Jacuzzi Research, Inc. registered "Jacuzzi Whirlpool Bath" trademark first used November 1, 1957 (whirlpool bath equipment and associated items-namely, carrying cases, filter pads, and bath essence).

October 31, 1957 - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. founded in California (Shotaro Kamiya as the first president); end of 1958 - 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser had been sold; 1997 - Toyota Camry became the best-selling car in America, surpassed Honda's popular Accord model; October 23, 1973 - Toyota U.S.A. held its first (three-day) national news conference in Los Angeles, CA to discuss the fuel efficiency of its automobiles (5 days after 11 Arab oil producers increased oil prices and cut back production in response to the support of the United States and other nations for Israel in the Yom Kippur War); American consumers suffered gasoline rationing, a quadrupling of prices, huge lines at gas stations - foreign auto manufacturers flourished in the large American market.

January 9, 1958 - Toyota, Datsun (later Nissan) brand names made first appearances in United States at Imported Motor Car Show in Los Angeles, CA.

March 9, 1959 - Barbie doll debuted (3-dimensional doll little girls could play with; created by Ruth Handler, founder of Mattel; used her daughter's nickname; December 1, 1959 - Mattel Incorporated registered "Barbie" trademark first used May 9, 1958 (doll); August 19, 1993 - Mattel, Fisher Price toys merged.

June 4, 1959 - Kihachiro Kawashima selected as Executive Vice President, General Manager of American Honda Motor Company (seven employees, operating capital of $250,000.); opened shop in small storefront office on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles to serve consumers wanting small, light, easy to handle and maintain two-wheeled vehicles.

October 16, 1962 - Wham-O Mfg. Co. (San Gabriel, CA) registered "Hula-Hoop" trademark first used May 21, 1958 (plastic toy hoops).

March 5, 1963 - Arthur K. Melin, of Pasadena, CA, received a patent for a "Hoop Toy" ("...toys in the form of a hoop for use about the body of a user"); Hula Hoop.

(Caspar Lumber Company), Ted Wurm (1986).  Mallets on the Mendocino Coast: Caspar Lumber Company, Railroads and Steamships. (Glendale, CA: Trans-Anglo Books, 134 p.). Caspar Lumber Company--History; Lumber trade--California--History; Railroads--California--History; Steamboat lines--California--History.

(Crown Zellerbach), Leib-Keyston and Co., (1927). Zellerbach, The House of Paper. (San Francisco, CA: Leib-Keyston and Co.,, 52 p.). Zellerbach, Anthony, 1831-1911; Zellerbach Paper Company; Zellerbach Corporation, San Francisco.

(Crown Zellerbach), George S. Armstrong & Co., Inc. (1937). Crown Zellerbach Corporation. (San Francisco, CA, 148 p.). Zellerbach Paper Company; Zellerbach Corporation, San Francisco.

(Frisbee), Fred Morrison, Phil Kennedy (2006). Flat Flip Flies Straight: True Origins of the Frisbee. (Wethersfield, CT: Wormhole Publishers, 436 p.). Creator of Frisbee. Frisbee; Flying toy.

(Heath Ceramics), Amos Klausner; introduction, Catherine Bailey & Robin Petravic; contributions, Yves Behar ... [et al.] (2006). Heath Ceramics: The Complexity of Simplicity. (San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 189 p.). Director of the San Francisco Chapter of the AIGA. Heath, Edith, 1911-2005; Heath Ceramics; Ceramic tableware --California --Sausalito --History --20th century. Signature tableware, tiles still made according to artisanal tradition conceived by Edith Heath in mid-1940s in Sausalito, CA; one of few remaining mid-century American potteries; history, legacy, craft, woman who created them.

(Jacuzzi), Ken Jacuzzi (2005).  Jacuzzi: A Father's Invention to Ease a Son's Pain. (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 534 p.). Jacuzzi, Inc.; hydro-therapy' whirlpool baths.  Memoir of growing up disabled in family of Italian inventors (from first enclosed cabin monoplane to world’s most recognized brand of whirlpool baths).

(Jacuzzi), Remo Jacuzzi (2007). Spirit, Wind and Water: The Untold Story of the Jacuzzi Family. (New York, NY: Welcome Rain, 227 p.). Jacuzzi, Inc.; hydro-therapy; whirlpool baths. Family of prolific innovators in several industries (wineries, olive groves, restaurants, successor company in field of hydrotherapy).

(Kaiser Steel), Mark S. Foster; foreword by William H. Goetzman (1989). Henry J. Kaiser Builder in the Modern American West. (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 358 p.). Kaiser, Henry J., 1882- ; Businessmen--United States--Biography.

(Kaiser Steel), Albert P. Heiner (1991). Henry J. Kaiser, Western Colossus: An Insider's View. (San Francisco, CA: Halo Books, 434 p.). Kaiser, Henry J., 1882- ; Businessmen--United States--Biography.

(Kaiser Steel), Stephen B. Adams (1997). Mr. Kaiser Goes to Washington: The Rise of a Government Entrepreneur. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 239 p.). Kaiser, Henry J., 1882- ; Businessmen--United States--Biography; Industrial policy--United States--History.

(Kaiser Steel), John Charles Anicic, Jr. (2006). Kaiser Steel Fontana. (San Francisco, CA: Arcadia Pub., 127 p.). Past President and Past Board Member of the Fontana Historical Society. Kaiser Steel Corporation; Steel industry and trade--California--Fontana--Pictorial works; Historic buildings--California--Fontana--Pictorial works; Fontana (Calif.).--History--Pictorial works. Kaiser Steel Corporation at Fontana was among California’s, nation’s industrial giants for two generations.

(Mattel), M. G. Lord (1994). Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll. (New York, NY: Morrow, 326 p.). Barbie dolls. Barbie doll conceived in 1959 as a teenage fashion model.

(Mattel), Ruth Handler, with Jacqueline Shannon (1994). Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story. (Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press, 230 p.). Founder of Mattel & Creator of the Barbie Doll in 1959. Handler, Ruth; Mattel, Inc.; Dollmakers--United States--Biography; Barbie dolls. 

(Mattel), Robin Gerber (2009). Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. (New York, NY: Collins Business, 288 p.). Lawyer, senior faculty for the Gallup Organization, senior fellow in Executive Education at Robert H. Smith School of Business (University of Maryland, College Park). Handler, Ruth; Mattel, Inc.; Dollmakers --United States --Biography; Barbie dolls. How one visionary woman built biggest toy company in world, created global icon; how two women forever changed American business and culture.

(Mattel), Jerry Oppenheimer (2009). Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 299 p.). Mattel, Inc.; Toy industry --United States. Dark side of toy land; Mattel's take-no-prisoners, shark-infested corporate style, corporate culture; eccentric, often bizarre, cast of characters; how dangerous toys are not new to Mattel; 50th Barbie anniversary in 2009, hot on heels of China Toy Terror recall scandal that tarnished Mattel's image in hearts, minds of millions of people worldwide; scandals that have been part of company; why today's toy business isn't always fun and games; why Mattel's fearsomely litigious approach has helped their products dominate potential rivals (Bratz); larger-than-life personalities that have shaped Mattel's eccentric world (cofounder Ruth Handler, "one-woman sales-merchandising-promotion-administrative force; Jack Ryan, "Father of Barbie," whose second of five wives calls him "a full-blown seventies-style swinger into wife-swapping, sundry sexual pursuits as way of life"; CEO Robert Eckert, came from worlds of processed cheese, hot dogs to lead Mattel-only to get grilled by the U.S. Congress, world press, in lead-paint-and-dangerous-magnets cause célèbre).

(Pacific Lumber Company), Hugh Wilkerson and John van der Zee (1971). Life in the Peace Zone; An American Company Town. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 158 p.). Pacific Lumber Company; Scotia, Calif.

(Pacific Lumber), David Harris (1995). The Last Stand: The War Between Wall Street and Main Street over California's Ancient Redwoods. (New York, NY: Times Books, 373 p.). Pacific Lumber Company; Earth First! (Organization) Consolidation and merger of corporations--United States; Redwood industry--California--Humboldt County; Environmentalists--California--Humboldt County; Scotia (Calif.). 

(Red River Lumber Company), Robert M. Hanft (1980). Red River: Paul Bunyan’s Own Lumber Company and Its Railroads. (Chico, CA: Center for Business and Economic Research, California State University, Chico, 304 p.). Professor of Business Administration (California State University, Chico). Red River Lumber Company; Logging railroads--California; Logging railroads--Minnesota.

(Wham-O), Tim Walsh (2008). Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory! (San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 192 p.). Wham-O, Inc.; Toys --History; Games --History. Amazing toys (Frisbee, Hula Hoop, SuperBall, Slip 'N Slide, Silly String, Hacky Sack), wide array of entertaining, downright odd playthings dreamed up by company started by two childhood friends; history of each plaything, colorful vintage packaging, ads, photographs of toys.

(Whittier, Fuller & Co.), Marjorie G. January, Elmer E. Simmons (1939). Ninety Years; The Story of William Parmer Fuller. (San Francisco, CA: Privately Printed, 144 p.). Fuller, William Parmer, 1827-1890; Fuller, W.P. & Co. (San Francisco). Contributors to this volume: Marjorie G. January, Elmer E. Simmons, W.P. Fuller, Jr., Mary Louise O’Brien.

(Whittier, Fuller & Co.), Mary E. Whitney (2000). Whittier, Fuller & Company. (Hemet, CA: Hemet Area Museum Association, 82 p.). Fuller, William Parmer, 1827-1890; Whittier, William F.; Whittier, Fuller & Co.; Businessmen--California--Sacramento--Biography; Businessmen--California--San Francisco--Biography; Glass trade--California--History; Paint industry and trade--California--History; California--History--1850-1950.

Michael Wallis and Michael S. Williamson (2007). The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate. (New York, NY: Norton, 293 p.). Journalist; Photographer (Washington Post). Automobile travel--United States; Lincoln Highway--History; United States--Description and travel; Lincoln Highway--Pictorial works. Completed in 1913 - 3,389 miles, 13 states, from bright lights of Broadway to shores of San Francisco.

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