1857 – A letter from Key West said, “A large amount of rain has fallen this month, and we are flooded with water. Mosquitoes are on the wing again and will increase for the next week about one million percent per day. The stock now on hand, if equally distributed, would satisfy the wants of the entire United States.”
1901 – The four-masted schooner Goodwin Stoddard had spent the previous week landing freight at Key West, and on this date began taking on a load of old iron cannons that had been sold by the U.S. government.
1906 – El Centro Asturiano established a branch in Key West. The society had one of the finest hospitals in Havana.
1939 – The large Pan American Airways hangar at Key West was sold to Albert O. Cleare of Miami who later disassembled it and moved it. The airline’s ticket office was sold to Charles Ogden who moved it to another location.
1953 – Six-year-old Graydon Menendez of Key West died in Miami’s Children’s Variety Hospital. His was the 11th case of polio of the year on the island and the first death to occur from it.
1968 – Harry L. Sawyer Sr. was named one of the Top 10 Police Officers in the U.S. by the American Police Association.
1971 – Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ed Mueller said that although the Seven Mile Bridge was rated in “poor” condition and required constant maintenance, it had not yet reached the “critical” stage and become dangerous to cross.
1997 – Florida Keys resident Meghan Heaney-Grier set a new U.S. free diving record of 165 feet during a one-minute 58-second breath-hold off Looe Key.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Pan American Airway hangar and office at Meacham Field Key West C 1928. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.