1830 – William R. Hackley recorded in his diary: Rose before the sun and studied the case of James Fearn. At 10 went to the courthouse and made a motion in the arrest of judgment on the grounds that the indictment was not specific enough the motion was sustained. The case of James Fearn for running a disorderly house came on for trial and he was found guilty and fined $20 and costs. I spoke again for a short time in this case. The court adjourned at 12 o’clock until Monday at 10. Returned to my room and dressed and read Hammond. After dinner read Stewart. After tea played whist. Captain Joshua Appleby sailed this morning early for the reef. Wind northwest and so cold that I was forced to use a blanket.
1917 – The winners in the Key West city elections were: Allen E. Cleare, mayor; Wallace Pinder, clerk; Whitmore Gardner, chief of police; Alfred P. Knowles, captain of night police; Charles Williams, treasurer; George L. Babcock, tax collector; William A. Carey, tax assessor; J.F. Russell, police justice and B.P. Baker, sexton. The new councilmen were E.E. Ingraham, Ross C. Sawyer, Joe Whalton Jr., Robert H, Thompson, Charles S. Maloney, J.R. Valdez and Roy Fulford.
1923 – The winners in the Key West city elections were: Frank Ladd, mayor; Wallace Pinder, clerk; Joseph W. Albury, chief of police; Ivan Elwood, captain of night police; Wesley P. Archer, police justice; Robert H. Givens, treasurer; Arthur H. Sheppard, tax collector; and William Carey, tax assessor.
1934 – Begley F. Filer, one of the first sportfishing guides in Key West, died at age 70.
1946 – In U.S. District Court, a jury found David J. Watson guilty of the murder of Benjamin L. Hobbs aboard the destroyer USS Stribling moored in Key West on July 25, 1946. The verdict of murder in the first degree carried a mandatory death penalty.
1948 – President Harry Truman, joined by his wife and daughter, took the yacht Williamsburg for a trip to Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas.
1951 – C.B. Harvey and Jack Delaney were elected to four-year terms on the Key West city commission and Dr. Delio Cobo won a two-year term. Harvey, by leading the ticket, was elected mayor.
1954 – A total of 19.8 inches of rain fell, flooding streets, cars and homes. Damage was estimated at more than $100,000.
1996 – Former President George H.W. Bush and Desert Storm commander General Norman Schwarzkopf were fishing in the Keys.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: The Presidential Yacht Williamsburg at the Naval Station Key West during a visit by President Truman. The Jeff Broadhead Collection. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/3608139344