1845 – Many vultures and crows were flying over a particular area of Stock Island, and on investigation the body of a man was found there. The deceased was identified as Alexander Sherrod, who had gone to the island a few days earlier with another man to cut wood. Sherrod’s companion had left him behind after he had become agitated and fled the woods “under a fit of horrors.”
1898 – President William McKinley signed the peace protocol with Spain ending the Spanish American War.
1906 – The 1906 Key West City Directory listed 7,997 names of people over the age of 16. This number multiplied by three gave an estimated population of the city of 23,991.
1911 – A 100-horsepower engine was to be installed in the freight and passenger boat Dr. Lykes that traveled between Key West and Miami. The Dr. Lykes, which traveled through Hawks Channel, offered passengers one of the best views of the construction of the railroad.
1923 – Monroe County commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of a $300,000 bond issue as a first step toward construction of a proposed “Overseas Highway” to run from Key West to the mainland.
1932 – Thomas M. Kelly retired after 27 years of consecutive service in the Lighthouse Service. His last station was Alligator Reef Lighthouse where he had served since 1917.
1934 – The first edition of the Spanish language newspaper Cayo Hueso was published. The editor of the new weekly was A.O. Armayor.
1942 – German submarine U-508 sank the Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo about 15 miles south of Key West. The two ships were part a convoy that sailed from Key West and were loaded with newly developed radio equipment destined for a base in the Caribbean.
1969 – Two Army Green Berets were drowned off the Naval Air Station at Boca Chica in a training accident.
1972 – The Key Deer population was estimated to be 750, well up from an estimated 25 to 50 in 1948, when the federal government began efforts to save the species.
1978 – Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad gave up her attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West after strong winds and heavy seas put her 40 miles off course.
1981 – Seven people were arrested and 30,000 pounds of marijuana worth $7.2 million seized when Florida Marine Patrol officers came upon two lobster boats offloading 400 bales of marijuana onto trucks at Key Largo.
1983 – Traffic on US 1 was halted and an area within a 500-foot perimeter evacuated, after a supposed military missile was found in a Marathon trash can. Navy officials examined the item and found it was an inert and harmless target drone. A fisherman had apparently snagged it in his line and thrown it away.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Monroe County Sheriff Bobby Brown, left, with a truck load of marijuana circa 1970s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.