1744 – The HMS Looe struck on the Florida Keys reef that now bears its name. Capt. Utting, the ship’s commander, saw that there was no way to save Looe, so he ordered it burnt and blown up. All the crew was safely carried to Jamaica in a Spanish sloop.
1829 – Flour was scarce at Key West, and no fresh bread was available.
1902 – James Frank was given life in prison for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Frank Adams.
1917 – A plan was announced whereby the German ambassador to the U.S., Count von Bernstorff, accompanied by all German consuls and consular and embassy staff, would depart the country from Key West via steamship to Havana, Cuba.
1924 – Band concerts at Bayview Park were set to end later in the week, as funds to pay the musicians had been exhausted.
1929 – The Navy, using the submarine S-4, began testing a submarine escape device known as the Momsen Lung. The tests were conducted near Smith Shoals.
1934 – Noted marine biologist Dr. Robert Van Deusen presented to students at Key West High School. Van Deusen, who had originally envisioned the Key West Aquarium, was invited to speak by Professor Horace O’Bryant. He talked about marine life and was peppered with more than fifty questions at the conclusion of his presentation.
1937 – Carl Bervaldi, Chairman of the Monroe County Commission, warned that anyone caught destroying any of the hundreds of coconut trees planted along Roosevelt Boulevard would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
1946 – The Key West city Commission approved the purchase of a lot adjacent to the city cemetery, because otherwise there was no more room for graves. The 50 x 85-foot lot would allow for 104 additional gravesites.
1947 – After a long meeting in a packed City Hall, the Key West City Commission cast an early morning vote to allow the sale of beer, wine, and liquor on Sundays.
1953 – The Key West City Commission approved a resolution changing the name of Salt Pond Road between Truman Avenue and Virginia Street to Jose Marti Drive.
1954 – Surveys started on the bridges from Boca Chica to Summerland Key, the first step in constructing “catwalks” for fishermen.
1984 – An international trade conference between the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Community was held over the weekend at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada.
1995 – The U.S. Postal service announced that it would issue a commemorative stamp honoring the late Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and Key West resident Tennessee Williams.
2008 – A $10,000 meteorite was stolen from a display case at the Winter Star Party at the Girl Scouts Camp on West Summerland Key. The 3 x 5-inch meteorite was on display between even more valuable rock samples from the moon and Mars.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A color postcard of South Roosevelt and the Bridle Path circa 1950. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.