California's iconic flag depicts a grizzly bear named Monarch, captured in 1889. What famous Californian ordered the capture of this 1200-pound bear?

In 1899, Hearst hired a journalist named Allen Kelley to capture Monarch in Ventura County as a publicity stunt. He was given the name Monarch after one of the Hearst newspaper's taglines - “Monarch of the Dailies". Sadly, the bear's life after that was not a happy one, though he did end up on the flag.

Asked by Tom Cohen · Last updated 5 years ago · 2K views