Short answers, pulled from the story.
Dana Point was named after the headland of Dana Point, which was itself named after Richard Henry Dana Jr., the author of Two Years Before the Mast. Dana visited the area in 1835 while serving aboard the sailing brig Pilgrim and described it as "the only romantic spot on the coast."
Dana Point Harbor was built in the 1960s and dedicated on the 31st of July 1971. The harbor's construction in 1966 destroyed the legendary surf break known as Killer Dana, as the breakwater was placed directly through the wave.
Killer Dana was a surf break off Dana Point renowned for rising out of deep water and breaking close to the shoreline rocks. It was destroyed when the Dana Point Harbor was constructed in 1966 and a breakwater was built through the spot. The surf group The Chantays recorded an instrumental tribute named "Killer Dana" in 1997.
Ned Doheny, son of oil magnate Edward Doheny, was killed along with his friend and secretary Hugh Plunkett on the 16th of February 1929, in a murder that has never been solved. Both men were scheduled to testify in Edward Doheny's criminal trial related to the Teapot Dome Scandal. In 1931, the Doheny family donated 41.4 acres to California as a memorial to Ned, which became Doheny State Beach.
Hobie Alter opened the world's first retail surf shop in Dana Point in 1954. The city also became the founding home of surf publications including Surfer Magazine and the Surfer's Journal, and filmmaker Bruce Brown produced the iconic film Endless Summer there.
Dana Point was named a Whale Heritage Site in 2021, a certification that at the time was shared with only three other locations worldwide. The designation recognizes communities where whales and dolphins are integrated into cultural, economic, social, and political life. Dana Point had been trademarked as the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capital of the World in 2019.