On This Day

First Chinese theater opens in the US, the Celestial John in San Francisco

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 867,567 in 2024.

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 867,567 in 2024. Among U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income, second by population density, and sixth by aggregate income as of 2023. Some 4.6 million residents live in the city's metropolitan statistical area, which is the 13th-largest in the United States. Around 9.2 million live in the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area, the fifth-largest in the United States.

Prior to European settlement, San Francisco was inhabited by the Yelamu Ohlone.

Historical Significance

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 867,567 in 2024.

Events Before

  1. City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

    City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

  2. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" premieres in Venice

    Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo.

  3. Sojourner Truth addresses the first Black Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio

    Sojourner Truth was an American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and alcohol temperance.

  4. American inventor Isaac Singer patents his famous sewing machine

    Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark.

  5. Second US National Women's Rights Convention convenes in Brinley Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts

    Second US National Women's Rights Convention convenes in Brinley Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts

Events After

  1. The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

    The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

  2. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il trovatore" (The Troubadour) premieres in Rome

    Il trovatore ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the Spanish play El trovador (1836) by Antonio...

  3. Emperor and French President Napoleon III marries Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba

    Eugénie de Montijo was Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 September 1870.

  4. Piano company Steinway & Sons is founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City

    Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway ( ), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E.

  5. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premieres at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy

    La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.

More from the 1850s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 23, 1852?
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 867,567 in 2024. Among U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income, second by population density, and sixth by aggregate income as of 2023.
Why is First Chinese theater opens in the US, the Celestial John in San Francisco significant?
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 867,567 in 2024.

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