Florida Gov. Leroy Collins arrives at the airport in Key West.
1878 – Fowey Rocks Lighthouse was first lighted.
1897 – The schooner Apphia and Amelia, sailing from Pascagoula to New York with a cargo of lumber, caught on fire and was abandoned just inside the American Shoal lighthouse. The captain and crew were rescued and taken to Key West.
1914 – J. Roland Adams founded Adams Dairy with a herd of 12 cows.
1941 – Film director William Morgan and producer Armand Schaefer arrived at Key West to make a preliminary study of locations for the upcoming feature “Mercy Island.” The duo planned to inspect some of the smaller keys around Key West.
1942 – The Norwegian merchant ship Gunvor, on a voyage from Mobile to Trinidad with a general cargo, was sunk when she accidentally sailed into the Navy’s minefield northwest of Key West.
1946 – Key West suffered a polio epidemic with 20 cases and two deaths reported. Eleven of the patients were in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and the remainder in the Key West Naval Hospital. Restrictions barring children under 16 from theaters, beaches and other public places were being rigidly enforced.
1951 – At a meeting sponsored by the Lower Keys Property Association, U.S. Representative Bill Lantaff spoke in the Monroe County courtroom about establishing a 640-acre reservation on Big Pine Key for the Key “Toy” Deer. After a sometimes-contentious discussion, residents supported the proposal.
1958 – Governor and Mrs. Leroy Collins were in Key West visiting their son Leroy Jr. who was stationed on a submarine at the Naval Station. They toured the Naval Station and were guests at a reception at the home of Sheriff and Mrs. John Spottswood.
1986 – Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Robert L. “Bobby” Brown died at age 55. He had also served as Monroe County Sheriff from 1969 to 1977.
2011 – Federal authorities denied Key West International Airport’s request to service Cuba, citing insufficient immigration inspection facilities, equipment, or personnel to warrant port-of-entry status to and from Cuba. The airport had applied in July 2009 for direct flights between the islands.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: An airport welcome for Governor Leroy Collins shaking hands with Louis Carbonell and on the right Louis Eisner. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.