1899 – Dr. J.Y. Porter reported that Key West had 45 new cases of yellow fever, bringing the total to 438. There were no recent deaths. Porter was traveling to Tampa to consult with the Florida state board of health on the matter.
1922 – Sheriff Roland Curry arrested Martin Key, Alton Sands, Frank Gomez, Joe Knight, Joe Roberts, and Joe Lowe in connection with the violent booze smuggling operation that took place on Stock Island on the 16th. The men were charged with transporting liquor and interfering with an officer in performance of his duty.
1934 – The Key West Historical Society was formed at an organizational meeting at the Key West Library. The officers named were Judge Jefferson B. Browne, president; M.E. Gilford, vice-president; H.T. Hunt Jr., recording secretary; Mrs. S. W. Douglas, treasurer and Mrs. Wallace B. Kirk, temporary historian.
1948 – The eye of a category three hurricane passed over Boca Chica Naval Air Station, where a barometer reading of 28.45 inches and sustained winds of 122 mph were recorded.
1974 – John Steele, the former mayor of Hallandale, Florida, was arrested at Key Largo for possessing $1.5 million worth of marijuana smuggled from Jamaica.
1983 – The Key Largo Wood Rat (Neotoma floridana smalli) was placed on the endangered species list by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Their habitat is limited to tropical hardwood hammocks on the northern one-third of Key Largo.
1999 – High wind from tropical storm Harvey caused Monroe County Schools to close for the day.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Damage North Roosevelt Boulevard from Hurricane of 1948. Gift Floy Thompson. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.