The steamship Bosiljka
1865 – The bark Adventure arrived in Key West with four of her crew sick with yellow fever. The fever spread to the Army troops on the island and began an epidemic that caused 331 cases with 71 deaths among the troops and an unknown number of cases among the civilian population.
1924 – Suggested names poured in for the contest to name the new hotel at Duval and Fleming streets: Optimo, The Miller, The New Era, Palma Real, The Oceana, Casa Altamira, Isla Coral, Duval Central, Key West Oriental, La Dora, Gibraltar Americano, Shenandoah, The Monroe, Havakey, and Mi Favorita, among many others.
1942 – The steamship Bosiljka, sailing from New Orleans to Key West, was sunk when she accidentally sailed into the Navy’s minefield northwest of Key West.
1983 – Author, ex-POW, navigator and lector Tristan Jones took up residence in Key West to work on his latest novel.
1998 – Rear Admiral Edward J. Barrett relieved Rear Admiral John E. Shkor as Commander of Joint Interagency Task Force East based at the Truman Annex of the Naval Air Station.
2008 – Monroe County unveiled its new Medical Examiner’s building on Crawl Key. The $4 million facility had a shielded entry for bodies, sophisticated air filtration systems, capabilities for handling a mass fatality event, and an emergency generator that could provide power for 14 days.
2020 – Singer-songwriter and Nobel Prize-winner Bob Dylan released the song “Key West (Philosopher Pirate),” a nearly 10-minute track portraying the island as an idyllic place where he finds solace as he approaches the end of his journey. It is considered by many to be one of his finest compositions.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The steamship Bosiljka was accidentally sunk in mine field north of Key West on June 19, 1942. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.