Please join us for a webinar presentation with Joseph Francis Ryan presenting his new book Ice & Oil – The Life and Legacy of Dan Murphy, California's Unlikely Titan.
You may be familiar with names like Huntington; Crocker; Chandler; Doheny and Hearst but have you heard of Dan Murphy? His influence on California’s history is just as significant. This secretive Gilded Age multi-millionaire silently shaped the development of Southern California and Los Angeles more than you may imagine. As the “Golden Boy” of Charles Crocker he began working for the Southern Pacific Railroad, built the largest mining supply house in the Southwest, discovered gold, struck the largest gusher in LA basin thereby saving E.L. Doheny from failure, and eventually owed the largest cement factory west of the Mississippi just as rapidly expanding Los Angeles was in need of concrete.
The unfortunate behavior of the women in his life almost brought disaster to Murphy. His privileged daughter nearly lost Murphy’s fortune to Italian princes who were on the hunt for rich American heiresses. Her story is one of unrequited love but she gave millions to the Vatican and became a Papal Countess.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. The webinar will also be recorded and published on our website.
LOCATION
Webinar via Zoom
REGISTRATION
This is a free event but registration is required.
This is a free webinar, but we welcome donations if you would like to support our programs. If you are not already a LACHS member, please consider joining LACHS today. Donate and/or become a member online. Your support is very much appreciated!
If you have questions about the event, please email us at lacityhistoryevents@gmail.com.
About Joseph Francis Ryan
Joseph Francis Ryan was raised on the shore of the Illinois River, steeped in legends of Native Americans, all recounted by his maternal grandfather. Beckoned to California, he found his way to Los Angeles, served a long career in the pharmaceutical industry and developed an appreciation for the historic development of the city. He was a Los Angeles City Historical Society Board Member for many years in the 1990’s. He inaugurated the Rosedale Cemetery Tour on behalf the LACHS in 1990. That tour continues annually by the West Adams Historical Association to a sold out crowd every October for over 30 years. He successfully nominated several mansions in the West Adams District to the Cultural Heritage Commission that have been included on the Historic - Cultural Monument List. Ryan was also served on the boards of the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society and the West Adams Heritage Association.
The book is available at Voorman’s in Pasadana, on Amazon, and at www.iceandoil.com
