1825 – Commodore David Porter sailed from Key West to the north coast of Cuba on the steamer Sea Gull on a cruise in search of pirates.
1848 – The second Key West Lighthouse, on Whitehead Street, was lighted for the first time.
1852 – John C. Hoyt, Key West agent for insurance underwriters, reported that in 1851, 33 ships, valued at $941,500, wrecked on the Florida Reef. Recovery expenses were $89,233 and salvage fees awarded were $75,852.
1902 – Some of Key West’s leading African American citizens organized a grocery business known as the Mutual Mercantile Company. The officers were: C.F. Dupont, president; Joseph G. Brown, vice-president; Joseph Lang, secretary; and James A. Fleming, treasurer.
1892 – Sponge dealer E.J. Arapian bought L.L. Lowe’s entire eight-vessel Key West sponging fleet for a “very large sum.” It was said to be the biggest transfer of floating property ever made at the island.
1913 – Key West Mayor J.N. Fogarty suspended Police Chief John Cates and Captain of Police Rafael Reinosa after they refused to resign. The punishment came after members of the police department had been implicated in receiving graft from illegal gambling resorts.
1961 – CBS television aired “The Gershwin Years,” which featured a segment filmed at the Key West Bight. The sequence featured renowned dancers Carmen de Lavallade, Claude Thompson, Harold Pierson, and Alvin Ailey performing to music from “Porgy and Bess.”
1983 – Three California sea lions arrived at Flipper’s Key West from their former home in Honolulu’s Sea Life Park. The three would be incorporated into the daily dolphin shows at the North Roosevelt Boulevard facility.
1993 – Julian “Yankee” Kee died at age 82. Kee was known worldwide for selling shells at the Southernmost Point in Key West.
2013 – Popular Key West stunt pilot Fred R. Cabanas was killed in Cozumel, Mexico, when his plane crashed during filming for an extreme sports television show.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: CBS Television filmed a sequence for a special titled ‘The Gershwin Years’ in January 1960. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center