1840 – Seminole warriors attacked and burned the settlement on Indian Key. The settlement had been founded by Jacob Housman and was the county seat for the newly formed Dade County. The raid ended Housman’s hope for a wrecking empire separate from Key West. Horticulturist and physician Henry Perrine was killed during the raid.
1916 – Dr. John B. Maloney died in Philadelphia at the age of 49. He was born in Key West and received his medical education at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1908, he opened the Louise Maloney Hospital – Key West’s first private hospital. He also served as Mayor of Key West from 1897 to 1898.
1926 – The 500-foot, 5,000-ton Italian steamer Fella was safely piloted into Key West Harbor by Captain Eugene Knight. The immense vessel, carrying passengers and freight, came in for repairs to its machinery.
1934 – Herbert J.R. Reck, the newly appointed Works Progress Administration administrator for District 4, which included the Florida Keys, arrived at his new station in Key West. His first order of business was to settle a strike of WPA workers.
1949 – Lelanette Roberts, 28, of Key West, was reported missing. Roberts had attended the Junior Chamber of Commerce dance at the Elks Club, and then went to two other Key West night spots before being last seen at 2:30 a.m.
1966 – Funeral services were held for Captain Eckwood Solomon Jr. at the First Congregational Church with burial in Key West City Cemetery. Captain Solomon was killed in action in Vietnam.
1983 – Police Captain Vincent Catala was shot and seriously wounded in a gun battle with a man trying to steal a car. Catala recovered and the suspect was caught and sent to prison.
2005 – Iguanas had successfully invaded the entirety of the Florida Keys, and their population was growing rapidly. Residents and county officials were searching for solutions to reduce their numbers.
2012 – The Key West City Commission approved developer Pritam Singh’s plans for a 96-room hotel to be built on a vacant lot in the Historic Seaport at Key West Bight.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West Bight, 1996. Photo by Ty Symroski. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.