John G. Downey was the first foreign-born governor ever elected in California - and the only one until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. Downey was born in Ireland, and assumed the governorship after the previous governor left after just five days in office. (Milton Latham appointed himself to a vacant Senate seat, after the previous senator was killed in a duel!)
He became very popular after vetoing a bill that would've given San Francisco's waterfront to private companies. Unfortunately, he lost the 1862 election to Leland Stanford, according to Wikipedia, so his term lasted only two years. But he owned a company which owned the land which was subdivided to create the town of Downey in the 1870s, and could remember that he presided over several important moments in California history
"During Downey's governorship, construction began on the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Also during his governorship, the Pony Express began service to San Francisco, and the Central Pacific Railroad was formed."
