1821 – A large Danish ship struck and then was driven over the Florida Reef, anchoring inside. The British surveying brig Kangaroo came across the scene and offered assistance, which was refused. A violent storm soon arose, and Kangaroo later found the Danish ship completely underwater and no sign of the crew.
1822 – The U.S. Revenue Cutter Alabama left Key West for Mobile with two British sloops it had captured there for violation of U.S. laws prohibiting traffic in slaves and the navigation act. The sloops had 15-20 enslaved Africans onboard. Alabama had also captured an American sloop for “piratical depredations and other outrages against the laws.”
1869 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, who had been a prisoner at Fort Jefferson for his part in the assassination of President Lincoln, was pardoned and released.
1903 – J. Pierpont Morgan stopped in Key West after a visit to Havana.
1907 – Sir William Gray Wilson, Governor of the Bahamas, arrived as the guest of Henry M. Flagler. The Afro-Bahamians of Key West gave the Governor a reception at the Good Samaritan Hall.
1920 – The stained glass windows for the new St. Paul’s Episcopal Church began to arrive.
1924 – Forms for the first story of the San Carlos Opera House in Key West were assembled and being filled with concrete.
1936 – The Monroe County Commission moved to negotiate with the Florida East Coast Railway Company towards acquiring the railroad’s right-of-way through the Florida Keys. If successful, the County would then use the right-of-way and bridges for the Overseas Highway.
1948 – Eduardo H. Gato Jr., son of the founder of the E.H. Gato Cigar Company, died at the age of 73, at the Key West Municipal Hospital.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Barbett Guns in the southwest bastion of Fort Jefferson in 1898. Door in rear to Dr. Samuel Mudd’s cell. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.