1872 – Dr. Daniel Whitehurst died at the age of 65. A native of Virginia, he came to Key West in 1844 as post surgeon at Fort Jefferson. He was mayor of Key West from 1868 to 1869.
1900 – Jacob McCleary, who worked on the Big Pine Key farm of Whitmore Pinder, shot and killed James Straun. For some time, Straun had been vandalizing Pinder’s crops, and the shooting resulted from an altercation over the situation.
1900 – The 218 men and officers of the First Artillery stationed at Fort Monroe were ordered to Key West. They were to replace troops who left the island because of the previous fall’s yellow fever outbreak.
1918 – A southbound passenger train derailed 10 miles south of Pigeon Key, with the locomotive plunging down the embankment. A relief train was sent from Key West to remove the passengers. The extent of any injuries was unknown, but no one was killed.
1924 -The Stephen R. Mallory Chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy unveiled the monument in Bayview Park in memory of the Confederate army and navy.
1956 – The movie “The Rose Tattoo,” which was made in Key West, had its premiere showing in Florida at the Strand and San Carlos theaters. Key West resident Tennessee Williams, who wrote the play, was on hand for the opening.
1959 – Filming started on the movie “Operation Petticoat.” The movie starred Cary Grant, who was already in Key West, and Tony Curtis, who was en route.
1996 – Rear Admiral John E. Shkor, U.S. Coast Guard, relieved Rear Admiral Andrew A. Granuzzo, U.S. Navy, as Commander of the Joint Interagency Task Force East based at the Truman Annex of the Naval Air Station.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A postcard of the Confederate Memorial in Bayview Park, Key West. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.