December 17, 1917 On this day in 1917, just minutes before midnight, a bomb exploded at the southwest corner of the Governor’s Mansion at the corner of H and 16th Streets in Sacramento. Governor William Stephens, his wife Flora, and the workers in the mansion were not injured. When police arrived at the mansion they found Governor Stephens investigating the crime scene. It was determined that the bomb was thrown from the alley in an assassination attempt against Stephens. Eyewitnesses reported that a man dressed in black was hiding behind an elm tree in the alley when the bomb went off. No culprit was ever found but many groups were blamed. Some suspected pro-German groups as Stephens had recently expressed support for the United States entering the Great War against Germany. Others accused the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Fifty-one members of the IWW were arrested after the bombing. Five died in jail from the influenza epidemic and 46 were convicted on hardly any eviden...