The company’s name is a tribute to electrical and mechanical engineer, Nikola Tesla, (1856-1943) a Serbian American. Friends with Mark Twain (1835-1910), Tesla was an inventor who never achieved a degree. Twain worked on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for seven years and created 28-30 books in his lifetime (novels, short stories, and essays). Twain was an inventor who never achieved a degree.
Tesla was founded in San Carlos, CA, south of San Francisco. Per Wikipedia, in May 2020, when Alameda County refused to let the Tesla factory reopen after a COVID-19 lockdown, Elon Musk threatened that he would move headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada. On December 1, 2021, Tesla relocated to the Gigafactory site in Austin, Texas. Another example of the stampede out.
Back to Twain. When he heard that Ina Coolbrith lost nearly all she owned in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, he offered a few of his autographed portrait photographs to be sold for her benefit. I mention that because there is a park named after her. Here is a video of the park, which is perched on a Russian Hill precipice at the intersection of Taylor and Vallejo and interrupting Vallejo itself because it is too steep for vehicles. I passed by it many times on the way to some incident or other.
Tesla was founded in San Carlos, CA, south of San Francisco. Per Wikipedia, in May 2020, when Alameda County refused to let the Tesla factory reopen after a COVID-19 lockdown, Elon Musk threatened that he would move headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada. On December 1, 2021, Tesla relocated to the Gigafactory site in Austin, Texas. Another example of the stampede out.
Back to Twain. When he heard that Ina Coolbrith lost nearly all she owned in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, he offered a few of his autographed portrait photographs to be sold for her benefit. I mention that because there is a park named after her. Here is a video of the park, which is perched on a Russian Hill precipice at the intersection of Taylor and Vallejo and interrupting Vallejo itself because it is too steep for vehicles. I passed by it many times on the way to some incident or other.
Coolbrith (1841-1928), poet, writer, librarian, first California Poet Laureate, the first of many
I assigned a story to one of my students born in San Francisco, a report that was written by Jack London, “The Story of an Eyewitness”, special correspondent, Collier’s, the National Weekly, May 5, 1906. The earthquake occurred at 5:12 in the morning of April 18, 1906, magnitude 7.9.
My nana, born Nita Leonard, April 17, 1894, San Francisco, lived at 120 Church Street. The house her father built still stands. Edward Francis Leonard was a San Francisco police officer and reported to duty the day of the earthquake, but on the way, a national guardsman holding a rifle with bayonet ordered him to pick up bricks until he was able to explain who he was. Officer Leonard was a six-foot Irishman and no pushover. The fire stopped four blocks from the Leonard home.
This photograph by Arnold Genthe shows Sacramento Street and approaching fire.
Steinbrugge Collection of the UC Berkeley Earthquake Engineering Research Center
Steinbrugge Collection of the UC Berkeley Earthquake Engineering Research Center
Footage at the corner of O'Farrell and Van Ness shows the uniform worn by Officer Leonard, St. Mary's Cathedral before it burned down in 1962, and St. Ignatius Church (spires seen in the distance) before it burned down in 1906, both rebuilt, St. Mary's up the hill, and St. Ignatius on "The Hill", University of San Francisco, one block from the old St. Ignatius Prep, my alma maters.
I think it was on Mission Street, seen in the footage, that my great-grandfather was ordered to pick up bricks. St. Patrick’s at 4th and Mission was rebuilt with reused bricks. The old US Mint at 5th and Mission survived because it had a giant water tank inside. Grand Avenue could be Grant Avenue.
Nana and her father remained in the family home while mother, sister, and brother were "refugees" for several days in Golden Gate Park. People were ordered to cook outdoors because of the fear of another fire starting. Water mains had broken. Water was brought in by horse and buggy and boat.
According to Nana, people were troopers and laughed about cooking outdoors.
Nana and her father remained in the family home while mother, sister, and brother were "refugees" for several days in Golden Gate Park. People were ordered to cook outdoors because of the fear of another fire starting. Water mains had broken. Water was brought in by horse and buggy and boat.
According to Nana, people were troopers and laughed about cooking outdoors.
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