1860History
Originally a Mexican land grant owned by Antonio Ygnacio Avila, the rancho was later purchased by a Scottish baronet named Sir Robert Burnett in 1860.
1873History
After his return to Scotland in 1873, the property was purchased by the then-manager of the rancho, Daniel Freeman.
1896Education
Originally all of the city was located in the Wiseburn School District, which opened in 1896.
1905Education
When the Inglewood Union High School District, now known as the CVUHSD, opened in 1905, its territory included the Wiseburn district.
1911Economy
The city acquired its name ("the second" in Spanish) due to being the second Standard Oil refinery on the West Coast when Standard Oil of California purchased the 840 acres of l...
1912Education
In 1912 the El Segundo School District opened, taking territory from the Wiseburn School District.
1917Government
Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.
1920History
== Demographics ==
El Segundo first appeared as a city in the 1920 U.S.
1925Education
On November 22, 1925, the El Segundo High School District was formed and El Segundo withdrew from the Inglewood Union district.
1928History
=== Aerospace ===
In 1928, William Mines, an immigrant from Canada, leased land for a flying field.
1930Government
In 1930, Los Angeles Municipal Airport, later Los Angeles International Airport, opened north of El Segundo; its presence led to the concentration of aerospace and aviation-rela...
1946Architecture
The current Boeing factory, the Boeing Satellite Development Center, was originally built by Nash Motors in 1946 and opened in 1948.
1955Architecture
In 1955, Hughes Aircraft Company purchased the 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) building; it was converted to build missiles and also served as a test facility.
1974History
Although filmed in British Columbia, the music video for the song "First Date", by pop-punk band Blink-182, takes place in El Segundo in 1974.
1979Architecture
In 1979, the United Airlines Reservation Center, a two-story, $4.5 million, 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) facility in the International Center, was scheduled to begin construction.
1982Culture
From 1982 until 1996, the headquarters of the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League was located in El Segundo.
1984Economy
The Standard Oil Company was renamed Chevron in 1984.
1990Culture
The airline moved its North America headquarters to Greater Los Angeles in 1990, and the headquarters were situated in El Segundo until 2005.
2002History
The establishment of SpaceX in the city in 2002 helped trigger this revitalization.
2003Culture
Japan Airlines operates its United States headquarters, which was moved from New York City to El Segundo in around 2003.
2009Culture
In 2009, a pair of local artists discovered the Smoky Hollow area, which mainly consisted of commercial properties.
2010Civil Rights
Its current North American headquarters opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony and other festivities on Friday March 26, 2010.
2011History
The El Segundo refinery entered its second century of operation in 2011.
2012Military
Human resources software company Neogov was founded in El Segundo in 2012.
2013Sports
The power plant, which came online in 2013, uses two generators: a Siemens gas turbine and an additional steam turbine.
2014Culture
In 2014, an air quality study found harmful ultrafine particles from the takeoffs and landings at LAX to be of a much greater magnitude than previously thought.
2015Economy
Infineon Technologies acquired El Segundo-based company International Rectifier in 2015.
2018Education
The Los Angeles Times moved its newsroom from downtown Los Angeles to a 4.5-acre (18,000 m2) campus in El Segundo in 2018.
2020Infrastructure
=== Top employers ===
According to the city's 2020–21 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
=== Subsidiaries of companies ===
Nexon America...
2023History
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $149,149, and the per capita income was $80,399.
2024Culture
In 2024, the Los Angeles Chargers moved their headquarters to El Segundo from Costa Mesa.
2025Disaster
On the evening of 2 October 2025 an explosion occurred and a fire erupted at the Chevron refinery, which produces 276,000 barrels of crude oil daily.