The Effects of the 1906 Earthquake in California on Research and Education

The great earthquake that struck on 18 April 1906 and caused a disaster also forged the first link in a chain of research and education effects that extended over the following decades. Now, with a century of hindsight, we have an advantageous point from which to view that earthquake and the developments it parented. We also face two disadvantages. One is that first-hand accounts and obscure documents are either lost or hard to find. The other is that while the centennial of the earthquake has prompted celebration and promotion activities, however appropriate they may be for advancing seismic safety, a different attitude is required for an objective historical review. The research reported here was conducted within such a critical frame of mind, but the final conclusion is not that the research and education impacts of the 1906 earthquake are overrated. Rather, several unacknowledged developments stemming from the earthquake are brought to light. While the first- and second-generation effects constituted a wave of influence that has largely passed by a century later, the tide today in the earthquake research and education field is still persistently higher than it would be if the 1906 earthquake had not occurred.