April 21

The fishing boat Blanche III at the pier in Key West with the first refugees in the Mariel boatlift, April 21, 1980.

1865 – Word reached Key West about the death of President Abraham Lincoln in Washington on April 15. All flags were at half-mast, and a gun was fired from Fort Taylor every 1/2 hour.

1901 – The schooners Harris Bros. and the Queen collided near Key Largo, and the former sank. The night was extremely dark and neither boat had lights. The Queen struck the Harris Bros. just aft of the fore-rigging, damaging itself and sinking the Harris Bros.

1930 – Heavy rains caused most of Key West’s cisterns to overflow, necessitating that they be re-oiled. A sheen of oil on the water’s surface helped prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

1952 – The Key West Players at the Barn Theater opened a show of five one-act dramas by Key West resident Tennessee Williams. Williams supervised all plays and personally directed “Mooney’s Kid Don’t Cry.”

1955 – In a reassessment of the Navy’s relationship with the City of Key West, Rear Adm. G.C. Toner, Commanding Officer of Naval Station, issued a glowing report. The review followed a January report by Toner’s predecessor that charged Key West with fostering “widespread gambling, prostitution, and police brutality to servicemen,” and in which he threatened to curtail the Navy’s presence on the island.

1980 – The Key West fishing boats Dos Hermanos and Blanche III arrived in Key West with 48 Cuban refugees, which began the Mariel boatlift. By the late-summer end of the mass exodus from Cuba, more than 130,000 refugees arrived in Key West.

2010 – Monroe County commissioners approved an ordinance that required lobbyists to register with the county, state who they worked for, and declare if they had any relationship with any county employee.

Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: The fishing boat Blanche III at the pier in Key West with the first refugees in the Mariel boatlift, April 21, 1980. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.