04/18/2026
April 18th, 1906: At 5:12am 60 second shift in the San Andres Fault that moved at 1.7 miles a second created a 7.9 magnitude rupture that was felt for almost 300 miles from southern Oregon to Southern Los Angeles. The hardest affected area by far was San Francisco. While the earthquake itself, and its aftershocks were damaging, it was the fires that erupted afterward that did the most damage. At least 30 fires in the days following the earth quake, largely from ruptured gas mains cost $350 million in damages (1906 $), over 200,000 people were left without homes, and 3,000 lives were lost.
Support from across the nation was almost immediate, from food donations to the New York Yankees playing a rare Sunday baseball game to raise funds. One of the greatest needs was medical care, and quickly a series of field hospitals were designated across the city to manage the sudden public health crisis.
The day after the disaster, Dr. Roy S. Lanterman joined other medical professionals from Los Angeles to provide immediate care and support, sponsored by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Dr. Lanterman set up the first emergency hospital for the disaster and over the following weeks he and his team treated over 2,000 patients.
Find more about this story in the Lanterman House archives, and by visiting our online exhibit here: https://lantermanhouse.wixsite.com/missionofmercy/exhibit-1
