1885 – The 1885 Florida State Census showed Key West had a population of 13,558. The birth places of 4,871 were listed as Florida, 4,410 were born in Cuba, and 3,260 were born in the Bahamas.
1935 – The Key West Aquarium was opened with a dedication ceremony attended by more than 500 celebrants. Speakers were Julius Stone, head of Federal Emergency Relief Agency at Key West, Dr. Robert O. Van Deusen, superintendent of the Philadelphia Aquarium, and Key West Mayor W.H. Malone.
1943 – The United States Marine Hospital, Key West closed. The hospital was established in 1848 to treat members of the U.S. Merchant Marines. The hospital had also served as a Navy Hospital during the Civil War and in 1898 when it treated the wounded from the Battleship Maine. In addition, many Key Westers were saved by treatment at the hospital, which was staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service.
1972 – Actor Dustin Hoffman and his family spent the weekend at the Pier House Motel.
1975 – A branch of the First Federal Savings and Loan of the Florida Keys opened in Key Largo at the Port Largo shopping center. It was the fourth branch of the growing Keys banking institution.
1997 – Retired Circuit Court Judge M. Ignatius Lester died at age 77.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West open-air aquarium at the end of Whitehead Street. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection in the Otto Hirzel Scrapbook. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.