flag of California

United States state flag

Also known as: Bear Flag

Written by Whitney Smith

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

California's state flag was adopted on Feb. 3, 1911. It is based upon the Bear Flag that flew over the California Republic from June 14 to July 9, 1846. The original flag, designed by William Todd, was first raised at Sonoma. Both flags show the brownCal — flag of California
U.S. state flag consisting of a white field (background) with a grizzly bear above the words “California Republic” and a red stripe; in the upper hoist corner is a single red star.

In the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, which occurred during the Mexican-American War, a group of American settlers in what was then the Mexican-ruled territory of California proclaimed independence and hoisted the original Bear Flag (June 14, 1846). The following month American naval forces seized control of the area, and the flag of the short-lived California Republic was replaced by the Stars and Stripes.

Memory of the Bear Flag was preserved, although original examples were lost or destroyed, and in 1911 the California legislature recognized it as the official state flag. The California grizzly bear, shown as the central emblem on the flag, is now extinct. The California flag, like those of Hawaii and Texas, is unusual in that it features a design used by a formerly independent country.

Whitney Smith