Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Santa Barbara Mission was established on the 4th of December 1786 as the tenth California mission founded by Spanish Franciscans. Padre Fermín Lasuén dedicated the mission succeeding Padre Junipero Serra as president of the chain.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck on the 29th of June 1925 killing 13 people and destroying much of downtown Santa Barbara. Infrastructure collapsed including the Sheffield Dam though low death toll resulted from early hour timing at 6:44 AM before most people were out.
A blowout at Union Oil's Platform A occurred the 28th of January 1969 about southeast of Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara Channel causing millions of gallons to surge into the ocean. Two legislative consequences passed next year were California Environmental Quality Act CEQA and National Environmental Policy Act NEPA.
At least 25,000 Chumash natives lived in the area before European contact arrived with five distinct villages flourishing there including Mispu where Santa Barbara City College now stands. Evidence of human habitation dates back at least 13,000 years according to archaeological findings.
Government was the biggest employer in 2024 followed by private education healthcare then leisure hospitality together accounting 50.5% all employment. The County Santa Barbara had 4,307 employees while University California Santa Barbara employed 4,250 people.