1. In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá and his expedition reached the area that would eventually become San Diego, making it the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast.

2. On March 22, 1878, the University of Southern California (USC) was founded in Los Angeles. Originally called the "Methodist Episcopal School," it was the only university in Southern California until the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was established in 1919.

3. In 1906, San Francisco experienced one of the deadliest earthquakes in American history. The quake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, hit at 5:12 a.m. on March 22, killing over 3,000 people and destroying over 80% of the city.

4. On March 22, 1941, the U.S. Navy launched the USS San Francisco, a heavy cruiser named after the city of San Francisco. The ship saw action in World War II and was involved in several major naval battles.

5. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Alaska's Prince William Sound. While not directly related to California, the spill had a significant impact on the state's economy due to its impact on the fishing and tourism industries in the Pacific Northwest. The spill occurred on March 24, but was caused by an incident on March 22 where the ship ran aground on a reef.