California
state, United States
- Capital:
- Sacramento
- Population:
- (2020) 39,538,223; (2023 est.) 38,965,193
- Governor:
- Gavin Newsom (Democrat)
- Date Of Admission:
- September 9, 1850
- U.S. Senators:
- Dianne Feinstein (Democrat)
- Alex Padilla (Democrat)
Recent News
May 2, 2024, 11:14 AM ET (AP)
Police make arrests at UCLA in tense clashes with Israel-Hamas war protesters
May 1, 2024, 11:39 PM ET (AP)
Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering
May 1, 2024, 10:53 PM ET (AP)
The Latest | Police tell UCLA protesters to disperse or face arrest
May 1, 2024, 11:00 AM ET (AP)
Utah cat with a fondness for cardboard takes surprise trip to California in an Amazon box
Apr. 30, 2024, 8:02 PM ET (AP)
Campaign to build new California city submits signatures to get on November ballot
California, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted as the 31st state of the union on September 9, 1850, and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. No version of the origin of California’s name has been fully accepted, but there is wide support for the contention that it derived from an early 16th-century Spanish novel, Las sergas de Esplandián (“The Adventures of Esplandián”), that described a paradisiacal island full of gold and precious stones called California. The influence of the Spanish settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries is evident in ...(100 of 10123 words)