Bill Del Monte, Last Known 1906 Quake Survivor, Dies at 109

The last-known survivor of San Francisco’s giant 1906 earthquake has died just 11 days short of his 110th birthday, according to local media reports.

The Marin Independent Journal reported on Monday that Greenbrae resident Bill Del Monte passed away earlier in the morning. He had been living at a residential care center in Marin County, the paper said.

Del Monte was best known as being the last-known survivor of a massive earthquake to hit San Francisco more than 100 years ago. The giant earthquake struck along the San Andreas fault near Mussel Rock in Pacifica on April 18, 1906. More than 1,000 people died in the quake, the Contra Costa Times said.

Although Del Monte technically lived through the event, he likely remembered very little from it: He was just three months old at the time.

But in the years to come, he witnessed a transformation in San Francisco that saw the rebuilding of the city following the massive earthquake into a culturally-rich community and one of the main technological hubs on the west coast.

“It’s just something I can’t believe,” he said of his life in an interview with NBC station KNTV in 2014. “It wasn’t too much of a city then, but it is now.”

In a statement, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said he was saddened by the news of Del Monte’s passing, calling the quake survivor “a true friend to our city.”

“He ultimately witnessed our city’s rise from the ashes more than a century ago seeing it rebuilt better than ever,” Lee said. “His legacy is a true reminder of how resilient our city is.”

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Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Del Monte’s age at the time of his death. He was 109, not 108.