On This Day

Work starts on 1st brick building 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 827,526 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 827,526 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 827,526 in 2024.

Events Before

  1. Dutch Princess Marianne and Prince Albert of Prussia separate after 18-1/2 years of marriage

    Dutch Princess Marianne and Prince Albert of Prussia separate after 18-1/2 years of marriage

  2. Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "Le prophète" premieres in Paris

    Le prophète (The Prophet) is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849.

  3. Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur (26) weds secretary Marie Laurent (23) in Strasbourg, France

    Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur (26) weds secretary Marie Laurent (23) in Strasbourg, France

  4. Prime Minister of Canada John Abbott (28) weds Mary Bethune at bride's parents home

    Prime Minister of Canada John Abbott (28) weds Mary Bethune at bride's parents home

  5. First chamber music group in the US gives its first concert in Boston, Massachusetts

    First chamber music group in the US gives its first concert in Boston, Massachusetts

Events After

  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

More from the 1850s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on May 11, 1850?
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 827,526 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 Work starts on 1st brick building 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 827,526 in 2024.

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