California State Motto

California Motto

Eureka!

California state motto

California’s state motto is the simple but telling “Eureka!”, was made official in 1963. The word eureka is Greek and translates to “I have found it.”

It is most famously accredited to Archimedes who exclaimed “Eureka!” when he finally discovered a method to determine the purity of gold. Most likely the motto was taken up for the discovery of gold. It also appears on the California state seal due to the discovery of gold in California.