1862 – During the month of August there were 150 cases of yellow fever reported by the Army in Key West. The deaths from fever totaled 50, comprising men from the Army, Navy, and Merchant Marine.
1908 – Thomas Roberts of Key West was jumped and beaten on Front Street by three local men because it was thought he would give testimony against them for selling whiskey to railroad construction workers throughout the Keys. Roberts was in critical condition.
1917 – A meeting was held at the YMCA in Key West, and the enlisted men of the island formed a new baseball league. Teams from the Navy, Marines, the Naval training station, and the Coast Artillery would play on Tuesdays and Saturdays for a total of 15 games each.
1930 – The Key West Citizen moved its office and press from Duval Street to a new building at 517 Greene Street.
1994 – More than 17,000 Cuban refugees had crossed the Florida Straits during the month. It was the largest Cuban exodus since the 1980 Mariel boatlift.
1994 – A Monroe County Circuit Court judge ruled that Donald Berg, owner of a tract of unimproved beachfront and wetlands along Atlantic Boulevard, was entitled to compensation from the City of Key West because its land use regulations deprived him of all economically viable uses for the property.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: WWI-era Navy baseball team, Key West. Front row, third from left, is John Alexander Laird. Gift of Lindsay Laird. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.