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History is not only the
long ago past. It is as close as yesterday or 50 years ago when Dr. Jonas
Salk’s research brought us the polio vaccine.
Giving recognition to
this angle is the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. Under
the leadership of California First Lady Maria Shriver, a Hall of Fame has
been established which honors living and deceased “greats” of our day —
people whom we all remember.
In a formal ceremony on
December 5, 2007, 13 legendary names who embody California’s innovative
spirit and who made their mark on history of our day were inducted into this
Hall of Fame. The achievements of these individuals are now a permanent
record in the California State Archives.
Who are these inductees?
They have made distinguished achievements in fields including the arts,
education, business and labor, science, sports, philanthropy and public
service. They have transcended the boundaries of their own field to make
lasting contributions to the state, nation and world. Their extraordinary
vision motivates and inspires the living of today and tomorrow to rise to
extraordinary accomplishments.
The 2007 inductees are:
Ansel Adams, Milton Berle, Steve Jobs, Willie Mays, Robert Mondavi, Rita
Moreno, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Jonas Salk, John Steinbeck, Elizabeth Taylor,
Earl Warren, John Wayne and Tiger Woods.
The 2006 inductees were: Ronald Reagan, Cesar Chavez, Walt Disney, Amelia
Earhart, Clint Eastwood, Frank Gehry, David Ho, MD, Billie Jean King, John
Muir, Sally Ride, Alice Walker and the Hearst and Packard families.
The museum features a
stunning 40-foot by seven-foot steel structure displaying translucent
back-lit panels dedicated to the legacies of inductees. The exhibition
continues in the interior of the museum and showcases in greater detail each
inductee’s unique contribution, with biographical information, photographs,
artifacts and memorabilia.
A year-around education
campaign is under way highlighting the inspirational achievements of these
inductees. The Hall of Fame brings to life the museum’s mission to educate.
It plays a role in addressing the tremendous need in K-12 education by
bringing critical learning opportunities in art, culture and history to
youth. Special activities will be held for educators teaching California
history.
The California Museum’s
Hall of Fame medal is named the SPIRIT OF CALIFORNIA. Designed by
internationally acclaimed California artist Robert Graham, the medal
features an iconic image of an individual representative of California’s
great spirit.
Historian Dr. Kevin Starr
said of this year’s inductees: “With characteristic panache, Governor
Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have assembled an eclectic and compelling
list . . . Creative in so many different ways, these 2007 honorees have one
thing in common: California nurtured their talent and they, in turn, have
brought new luster to the Golden State.”
The museum is centrally
located at 1020 ‘O’ Street in Sacramento, one block from the State Capitol.
Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Contact info: 916-653-7524;
info@californiamuseum.org
www.californiamuseum.org
Ansel Adams. Famed
for his dramatic photographs of the American West. Was instrumental in
establishing the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York. A lifelong associate of the Sierra Club. In 1985 an 11,760-foot
peak in the Sierra was named for him. (Photo courtesy Rondal Partridge)
Milton Berle.
Television’s first superstar, he was credited with making television sets
standard equipment in American homes. (Photo courtesy Berle Estate)
Steve Jobs. His
company, Apple, leads the industry in countless communications innovations.
Its Pixar has won 20 Academy Awards and its films have grossed more than
$3.2 billion worldwide. (Photo courtesy Apple)
Willie Mays. To
many the greatest all-around baseball player in history. During 22 seasons
the “Say Hey Kid” hit 660 home runs. (Photo courtesy Willie Mays)
Robert Mondavi.
Came to California during the Prohibition era. Robert set out to disprove
that only France could produce great wines. In 1979 his Opus One Winery in
Oakville set a world sales record for California with a $24,000 case price
at auction. He helped established the Center for the Performing Arts at the
University of California, Davis, which opened in 2002. (Photo courtesy
Icon Estates)
Rita Moreno. One
of the few actresses to win all four of the most prestigious show-business
awards — the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. She made her debut on Broadway at
age 13 and joined MGM in 1949 where she made more than 30 films. Her Academy
Award-winning performance in West Side Story brought her recognition as a
major talent. (Photo courtesy Rita Moreno)
Jackie Robinson.
Remembered as the civil rights pioneer who broke baseball’s color barrier.
At UCLA he became the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four
sports — baseball, basketball, football and track. He became prominent in
both banking and construction industries where his major aim was to
contribute to improving living conditions for African Americans. (Photo
courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
Jonas Salk. Became
an international hero when he developed the first successful vaccine against
polio. He never patented the vaccine and never earned any money from his
discovery, preferring to have it distributed worldwide. San Diego voters
gifted him land to establish the Salk Institute in La Jolla — one of the
world’s preeminent research institutions in biological sciences. (Photo by
Wide World Photos, courtesy Mandeville Special Collections
Library, UC San Diego)
John Steinbeck.
His writing, deeply rooted in the Salinas Valley of his youth, earned him
worldwide recognition. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1962. He is perhaps best known for his Grapes of ( Wrath about Dust Bowl
refugees, which won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1940. With marine
biologist Ed Ricketts he authored The Log from the Sea of Cortez which
established him as one of the founding fathers of the ecological movement.
(Photo by Sonya Noskowiak, courtesy Martha Heasley Cox Center for
Steinbeck Studies, San Jose State University)
Elizabeth Taylor.
Born in England, she was catapulted to stardom in the film National Velvet
as a 12-year-old. Her stunning beauty has enchanted audiences for over 60
years. For two decades she has been a leader in AIDS activism, including a
founding role in the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Elizabeth
Taylor AIDS Foundation. She has also been an extraordinarily successful
businesswoman with her best-selling line of fragrances. She was made a Dame
of the British Empire in 2000. In 1987, France bestowed upon her its most
prestigious award, the Legion d’Honneur. (Photo by Brenda Chase,
courtesy Getty Images)
Earl Warren. One
of the most influential Supreme Court Chief Justices in US history. He
became California’s governor in 1942 and was the state’s only governor to be
elected to three terms. Among landmark decisions
during his term as Chief Justice were Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
(1954) which declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional and
Hernandez v. Texas (1954) which gave Mexican Americans the right to serve on
juries. (Courtesy Bob
Warren)
John Wayne. He appeared in more than
175 films over half a century making him a Western hero and an American
icon. Nearly 30 years after his death he still consistently ranks among the
most popular movie stars of all time. Wayne was a proud supporter of the
military and posthumously he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and in
1980 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Courtesy Wayne Enterprises)
Tiger Woods. Born and raised in
Southern California, he revealed his future golfing talents by swinging his
way onto television with Bob Hope at age two. Today he has become the first
person ever to hold all four professional major championships at the same
time. He was also the youngest Masters champion ever at age 21 and was the
first major championship winner of African or Asian heritage (he is both).
He and his father founded the Tiger Woods Foundation to help disadvantaged
youth with scholarship programs. He also founded the Start Something
character development program and the Tiger Woods Learning Center. (Photo by
Hunter Martin, courtesy PGA Tour/WireImage)
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