Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and commercials.

History

Monrovia is the fourth-oldest

general-law city In the systems of local government in some U.S. states, a general-law municipality, general-law city, code city,

in Los Angeles County and the L.A. Basin (after Los Angeles,

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, and Pasadena, all now

charter cities In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organ ...

). Incorporated in 1887, it has grown from a sparse community of orange ranches to a residential community of over 37,000. Around 500 BC, the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historica ...

, a band of Shoshonean-speaking Indians, established settlements in what is now the San Gabriel Valley. They were called the Gabrieliño Indians by early Spanish missionaries, a tribe of

Mission Indians Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...

. The Tongva were not farmers; they gathered wild seeds, berries, and plants along rivers and in marshlands. Abundant oaks in the Valley, such as Coast Live Oak and Interior Live Oak, provided a staple of the Tongva diet:

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera '' Quercus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and bo ...

mush made of boiled acorn flour. In 1769, the Portolà expedition was the first recorded Spanish (or any European) land entry and exploration of present-day California, then the Spanish colonial '' Las Californias Province'' of the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Ame ...

(colonial México). In 1542,

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...

claimed it from sea for the King of Spain. The expedition led by

Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given name, given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Spanish language, Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of t ...

proceeded north from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, passing through the area en route to

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ...

. Accompanying Portolà was

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

padre Juan Crespí, the expedition's diarist. Much of what is known of early California is from Crespi's detailed descriptions. In 1771, Franciscans established the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in the San Gabriel Valley. The mission continued after Mexican independence in 1822. In 1833, the Mexican Congress initiated

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses t ...

of the missions in

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

, to begin seizure of mission properties for sale to private rancho grantees. In 1841,

Governor Juan Alvarado issued

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement fo ...

s for Rancho Azusa de Duarte to Andrés Duarte, a Mexican soldier; and for Rancho Santa Anita to Hugo Reid, a naturalized Mexican citizen of Scottish birth. Monrovia is made of parts of these two ranchos. In the mid-19th century, most of Rancho Azusa de Duarte was subdivided and sold by Duarte to settle his debts. Some of those parcels became part of the ranch of William N. Monroe, Monrovia's

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

. Rancho Santa Anita changed hands several times before the multimillionaire, silver baron and rancher E.J. "Lucky" Baldwin acquired it in 1875. That same year his Los Angeles Investment Company began subdividing and selling parcels from many of his ranchos. In 1883, 240 acres (970,000 m²) of Rancho Santa Anita were sold to Monroe for $30,000. Additional parcels of Rancho Santa Anita were sold to Edward F. Spence, John D. Bicknell,

James F. Crank Crank House, also known as Fair Oaks Ranch, is an 1882 Victorian style residence in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 for its association with the early settlement ...

, and J.F. Falvey. The completion of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad in 1887, later sold to the Santa Fe (which would run through Monrovia) and Southern Pacific railroads to Southern California brought new people looking for homes and investment opportunities. With this in mind, Monroe, Spence, Bicknell, Crank, and Falvey combined their land under the business name of the Monrovia Land and Water Company in 1886, centered at Orange (now Colorado Boulevard) and Myrtle Avenues; the first tract extended from Magnolia Avenue on the west to Charlotte Avenue (Canyon Boulevard) on the east, a half block south of Walnut on the south and a half block north of Lime on the north. The subdivision was subdivided into 600 by (1.84 acre) lots and sold. The town was incorporated in 1887 under the leadership of prohibitionists who wished to control the arrival of an unwelcome saloon. The newly formed government's first order of business was to pass a tippler's law, prohibiting the sale of alcohol. In 1903, the ''Monrovia News'' was established. The same year, the

Pacific Electric The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...

was opened, providing transportation to and from Los Angeles, making it possible for Monrovia homeowners to work in Los Angeles. In 1905, Carnegie funds became available and, with the help of the Board of Trade (forerunner to the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

) and the Monrovia Women's Club, a bond issue was passed to purchase the Granite Bank Building to be used as a city hall, and to acquire property for a public park. The Granite Building has served as the city hall, fire and police department facilities since 1961 and the fire department since 1974. In 1956, the old Carnegie library building was torn down and a new library was constructed. In March 2007, a new library was voted on by the people of Monrovia. It won with 70% yes votes. The library now has 190,000 books, a heritage room for historical documents, and areas for children, teens, and adults. A city council-manager type government was instituted in 1923. In 1930, the Monrovia Airport, also known as the Foothill Flying Club, was commercially established. The small airstrip claimed to have had 12,000 paying customers use the airfield in 1932 and on May 19, 1938, the first airmail flight took off from Monrovia Airport. Ownership of the airport changed hands several times while it was in operation; pilots remembered it as "the friendliest little airport in the country." Apart from usage by Riley Brothers, TWA Captain and former airshow pilot Kalman Irwin, and

Pancho Barnes Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (July 22, 1901 – March 30, 1975) was a pioneer aviator and a founder of the first movie stunt pilots' union. In 1930, she broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record. Barnes raced in the Women's Air Derby and was a ...

, the airfield is well-known for its use as a movie-filming location. The first movie filmed at the Monrovia Airport was The Fighting Pilot. Other films shot at the airfield include

20,000 Men a Year ''20,000 Men a Year'' (aka ''Air Story'' and ''Aviation Story'') is a 1939 American action film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Lou Breslow and Owen Francis. The film stars Randolph Scott, Preston Foster, Margaret Lindsay, Mary Heal ...

, The Great Plane Robbery, and most notably, The Big Noise, featuring

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

. The 35-acre airfield, used as a runway as well as an airplane repair and storage service, was forced to close in 1953 after being sold to

Consolidated Engineering Corporation Consolidated Engineering Corporation was a chemical instrument manufacturer from 1937 to 1960 when it became a subsidiary of Bell and Howell Corp. History CEC was founded in 1937 by Herbert Hoover Jr., eldest son of former United States presiden ...

for redevelopment as a result of increased land values. Monrovia was the home to the precursor to

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

. In 1937, Patrick McDonald opened a food stand on Huntington Drive (Route 66) near the old Monrovia Airport called "The Airdrome" (hamburgers were ten cents, and all-you-can-drink orange juice was five cents); it remained there until 1940, when he and his two sons, Maurice and Richard, moved the building east to San Bernardino to the corner of West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street, renaming it "McDonald's". UptonSinclairHouse-186-sm

The

Upton Sinclair House The Upton Sinclair House is a historic house at 464 N. Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, California. Built in 1923, it was the home of American novelist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) between 1942 and 1966, and is where he wrote many of his later works. I ...

, home to activist and author

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

, is in Monrovia and is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. In 1995, Monrovia received the All America City Award from the National Civic League.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the city has an area of . of it is land and of it (0.79%) is water.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Monrovia had a population of 36,590. The population density was . The racial makeup of Monrovia was 21,932 (59.9%)

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

(41.1% Non-Hispanic White), 4,107 (11.2%) Asian, 2,500 (6.8%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 279 (0.8%) Native American, 76 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 5,818 (15.9%) from other races, and 1,878 (5.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 14,043 persons (38.4%). The census reported that 36,434 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 61 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 95 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 13,762 households, out of which 4,725 (34.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,295 (45.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,073 (15.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 778 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 793 (5.8%)

unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...

, and 131 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,649 households (26.5%) were made up of individuals, and 1,276 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 9,146 families (66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.24. The population was spread out, with 8,514 people (23.3%) under the age of 18, 3,084 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 10,733 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 10,018 people (27.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,241 people (11.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. There were 14,473 housing units at an average density of , of which 6,809 (49.5%) were owner-occupied, and 6,953 (50.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 18,478 people (50.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,956 people (49.1%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, Monrovia had a median household income of $71,768, with 9.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,929 people, 13,502 households, and 9,086 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,686.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,037.0/km²). There were 13,957 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 62.92%

, 8.67%

, 7.02% Asian, 0.87% Native American, 0.13%

, 15.61% from other races, and 4.77% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 35.24% of the population. There were 13,502 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.29. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,375, and the median income for a family was $49,703. Males had a median income of $41,039 versus $32,259 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $21,686. About 9.7% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatur ...

, Monrovia is in , and in . A small portion of the city is in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

, Monrovia is split between , and . The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Monrovia Health Center in Monrovia.

Education

Public schools

Monrovia Unified School District Monrovia Unified School District is a school district in Los Angeles County, California. It has its headquarters in Monrovia. The district has 1 early learning center, 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 1 high school, 1 Alternative Schools, ...

operates public schools. Monrovia High School was built in 1887. It was where Monroe School now stands, and housed the entire elementary and high school student body. A new high school on the property now occupied by Clifton Middle School was erected in 1905, and in 1912 was greatly expanded by the addition of new buildings. In 1928 a high school to serve the communities of Monrovia, Arcadia and Duarte was built. The same structure now serves only Monrovia students, as the elementary and high school district were unified into one district in 1961. The district now has one high school, one continuation school, two middle schools and five elementary schools. The city's public schools are: * Bradoaks Elementary School, K-5, 930 E. Lemon * Canyon Early Learning Center, public pre-K, 1000 South Canyon * Canyon Oaks High School (public alternative), 7-12, 930 Royal Oaks Drive * Clifton Middle School, 6-8, 226 S. Ivy * Mayflower Elementary School, K-5, 210 North Mayflower * Monroe Elementary School, K-5, 402 W. Colorado * Monrovia Community Adult School 920 South Mountain * Monrovia High School 9-12, 845 W. Colorado Boulevard * Monrovia Mountain School, public Alternative K-8, 950 S. Mountain Avenue * Plymouth Elementary K-5, 1300 Boley Street * Santa Fe Middle School 6-8, 148 W. Duarte Road * Serendipity Early Care and Education Center, K, 940 W. Duarte Road * Wild Rose Elementary, A California Distinguished School K-5, 232 Jasmine * Vista Ridge Academy, 1311S. Shamrock

Private schools

* Calvary Road Baptist Academy, K-12, 319 W. Olive * Church of the Nazarene, K-6 303 W. Colorado * First Lutheran School, pre-K-8, 1323 South Magnolia * First Presbyterian Church Preschool, 101 E. Foothill Boulevard * Immaculate Conception School, K-8, 726 Shamrock Lycée International de Los Angeles previously had its San Gabriel Valley campus in Monrovia. It opened in 1990 on the property of the United Methodist Church.Klein, Karen E.
Monrovia Will Get a Taste of France With New School

Archive
. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''. June 20, 1990. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. Its area campus moved to Pasadena in 2006.

Miscellaneous education

* Joe Ferrante Music Academy, K-12, 126 E. Colorado Blvd.

Colleges and universities

The city is a part of the

Citrus Community College District Citrus College is a public community college in Glendora, California. The Citrus Community College District, which supports the institution, includes the communities of Azusa, Claremont, Duarte, Glendora and Monrovia. Founded in 1915 by edu ...

Media

Monrovia community news is provided by the '' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'', published by Digital First Media, and ''Monrovia Weekly'', a community newspaper published by Beacon Media News. Both newspapers have offices in Monrovia. Public access television is provided by KGEM-TV, which is available primarily to cable viewers, with some content online.

Transportation

Monrovia's main roads include Foothill Boulevard and Huntington Drive (historic Route 66). It is also served by the Foothill Freeway (I-210). In 2016,

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

opened a new at-grade light rail station in Monrovia,

Monrovia Station Monrovia station is an at-grade light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located at the intersection of Duarte Road and Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia, California, after which the station is named. This station ...

, at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Duarte Road. It is served by the Metro L Line. It is at the location of the former Santa Fe Depot, which still stands.

Economy

Original Tommy's, Trader Joe's, Green Dot and Naked Juice are based in Monrovia. Monrovia has a "Technology Corridor," primarily on Huntington Drive ( old Route 66) east of Primrose Avenue, which includes AeroVironment, Tanner Research, Parasoft, Xencor, and ITT Deep Space Division.

Top employers

According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Popular culture

*The house seen in the 1986 horror-comedy cult film ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

'' is at 329 Melrose Avenue in Monrovia.

Notable people

* Kenny Baker, singer and actor *

Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' until 2022. Barrett is known fo ...

, frontman, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, late-night TV announcer * Corie Blount, basketball player, Los Angeles Lakers,

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

* Cisco Carlos, Major League Baseball pitcher * Jason Earles, actor * Mary Ford, vocalist and guitarist * Jim Fuller, guitarist for The Surfaris (of "Wipeout" fame) *

Prince Gomolvilas Prince Gomolvilas (born August 28, 1972) is a Thai American playwright. He has written many plays which have been produced in the United States and won several distinctive awards, including a PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Drama. He was ...

, playwright *

Dean R. Hirsch World Vision International is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It prefers to present itself as interdenominational and also employs staff from non-evangelical Christian denominations. It was ...

, president of World Vision International * Ernie Johnson, former Baseball player and member of the New York Yankees first World Series championship team 1923 * Ian Johnson, American football player * Katie Johnson, Mexican-American soccer player for the

San Diego Wave San Diego Wave FC is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soccer team s ...

in the NWSL * Steven Kiyoshi Kuromiya, gay rights activist *

Ellis McCarthy Ellis Lamar McCarthy (born July 13, 1994) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He played college football with the UCLA Bruins. High school career McCarthy played football at Monrovia High School for coach Rya ...

, defensive tackle for

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

Corky King Claude Rex Nowell (November 2, 1944 – January 29, 2008), also known as Corky King, Corky Ra, and Summum Bonum Amon Ra, was an American businessman and founder of Summum, a 501(c)(3), philosophical and religious organization that practices a m ...

, founder of

Summum Summum is a religion and philosophy that began in 1975 as a result of American citizen Claude "Corky" Nowell's claimed encounter with beings he described as "Summa Individuals". According to Nowell, these beings presented him with concepts ...

* Scott Land, puppeteer/actor * Don Mankiewicz, screenwriter and novelist *

Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. Francis Marion Pottenger Jr. (May 29, 1901 – January 4, 1967) was an American physician and raw food diet advocate. He was best known for his cat study that sparked interest in a diet high in raw animal products including uncooked meats and unp ...

, nutrition researcher * Kim Rhode, three-time Olympic gold medalist (six medals total) in trap and skeet shooting * Thomas J. Sargent, 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics, graduated from Monrovia High School in 1961 *

and Mary Craig Sinclair, authors and producers * Jacob Smith, actor *

William A. Spinks William Alexander Spinks Jr. (July 11, 1865 – January 15, 1933) was an American professional player of carom billiards in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was often referred to as W. A. Spinks, and occasionally Billy Spinks. In ad ...

(1865–1933), champion carom billiards pro, co-inventor of modern billiards cue chalk, oil investor, and flower and

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Pre-Columb ...

farmer (developer of the Spinks avocado

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

); also maintained home and farm in nearby Duarte * Leslie Van Houten, Monrovia High School graduate,

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

follower * Henry B. Walthall (1878-1936), actor * The Fabulous Wonder Twins, entertainers *

Ashley Sanchez Ashley Nicole Sanchez (born March 16, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She played collegiate so ...

Professional Soccer Player for the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and the

USWNT The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and ...

References

External links

* City of Monrovia website * {{authority control 1887 establishments in California Cities in Los Angeles County, California Communities in the San Gabriel Valley Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1887