1  9  1  9

A Palace Hotel luncheon launches an effort to raise $1.7 million to build a road to Yosemite, from Merced to El Portal. This will "make the valley a famous winter as well as summer resort." — Feb. 4

Dr. John Grimm of Sausalito and Nellie Isbister, a Berkeley music student, are killed on the steamer Moana when the "sugar" in their lemon squashes turns out to be a deadly poison. At first it is believed an oxalic acid cleaning compound is to blame, but later chemical analysis at the port in Papeete finds cyanide in the drinks instead. — Feb. 24

Kathryn Fisher, 25, says Dr. Ephraim Northcott admitted to her he killed Inez Elizabeth Reed, army nurse, through an "illegal operation," but denied he threw her body into a San Mateo ravine — instead, he allegedly said, Reed jumped from his auto in a fit of pain. — April 7

At the Hearst Greek Theater memorial for philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst, mother of Examiner owner William Randolph Hearst, University of California President Benjamin Wheeler eulogizes the school's longtime backer and regent: "By native instinct, she followed the quieter paths, but the possession of power and of rare gifts of mind opened before her a duty toward her fellow man which she did not evade." — April 23

"San Francisco's own," the Army's 363rd Division, along with the 347th, are enveloped by a massive welcome home crowd that halts their Market Street parade in its tracks. — April 23

Soft drink sellers flood city streets in advance of prohibition. — May 4

Proving that "a package of mail may be transported across the continent at almost a mile a minute," Capt. Lowell Smith lands his Army Air Service biplane at the Presidio 54 hours and 22 minutes after leaving Toledo, Ohio. This allows The Examiner to print photos of the recent heavyweight championship boxing bout between Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey a full day ahead of competitors relying on rail and auto delivery. — July 7

Dr. Emma L. Merritt offers to sell to the city Sutro Baths, which she says turns a profit, and an adjoining 78 acres of coastal land adjacent to Lincoln Park and Fort Miley for its assessed value of $410,000. She says she'll throw in another 20 acres across Pt. Lobos Avenue if it be named Sutro Heights, after her late father, Adolph Sutro. — August 9

A strikebreaking motorman crashes a Key route car into a jitney bus at College and Claremont avenues, killing six riders. All of East Bay transportation has been tied up by a massive strike, and rioting has broken out. Mayor John L. Davie declares a state of emergency. — Oct. 8

Described by the sheriff as "hard nuts," two twins and a third man who carjacked, kidnapped and hammered to death M.J. Needham just outside the city's limits are caught in Ogden, Utah, trying to cash a check for the sale of Needham's car. Carl Cole, one of the twins, laughs throughout his interrogation.

Nov. 8

Four thousand chickens blow away in a storm in Napa. — Dec. 1

George Clark and Donald Robertson, 9 and 10, respectively, are nabbed after a rooftop chase in the Richmond District. The boys are believed to be behind a dozen or so house burglaries in the past three weeks. Among their loot: two diamond rings, valued at $500. Young Robertson's father is employed by the Burns Detective Agency. — Dec. 1

"All out of babies — except one!" The Examiner only has "one Yule baby left in Santa Claus' bag" in its Christmas baby giveaway after 112 prospective parents write, call or visit the paper to offer homes for a dozen orphans pictured and described in its pages. — Dec. 23

Previous year: 1918 | Next year: 1920