1915 – With improved firefighting apparatus and increased efficiency by the Key West Fire Department, insurance rates were dropped on...

1836 – After having been on station for two months to protect Indian Key from Seminole attack, the Revenue Cutter Dexter left the...

1839 – President Martin Van Buren recognized Joseph Beverly Browne as Consul for Texas at Key West. 1876 – St. James Missionary Baptist...

1828 – The lighthouses at Key West, Sand Key, and the Dry Tortugas were low on oil and could make only “a very indifferent light.” It...

1871 – John Bartlum died at age 57. He was born in the Bahamas and was working in Key West by 1835. He was the leading shipbuilder of...

1946 – In a special meeting, the Key West City Commission passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of the beach property at the...

1897 – Outgoing Mayor James A. Waddell gave the oath of office to Mayor-elect Dr. John B. Maloney, who then administered oaths to the...

In 1964, a hurricane led the Beatles to make an impromptu stop in Key West.

1908 – Key West resident Antonio Navaretta, a native of Africa and “undoubtedly the oldest resident on the island,” died at his Watson...

1883 – Key West Mayor William McClintock resigned his position to take a job at the Custom House. He had been elected less than a year...

1878 – A hurricane that claimed hundreds of lives in Cuban and Haiti passed over the Middle Keys on a due north course that took it over...

1622 – Three large galleons, along with other ships from Spain’s Tierra Firme fleet, were wrecked from the Marquesas Keys to the Dry...

1861 – Major William H. French issued an order that all male citizens of the island must take an oath of allegiance to the United States...

1849 – The Belgian brig Antionette arrived at Key West under the charge of wreckers. The vessel was sailing from Antwerp to Havana when...

1927 – A spectacular chase through the streets of Key West resulted in the arrest of Willard Hopkins, who was carrying 85 gallons of...

1829 – Yellow fever was rampant at Key West. One resident wrote, “This place still continues sickly. Although every person who could get...

1837 – The passengers and crew of the schooner Sarah Ann , wrecked at Sombrero Key while sailing from Charleston to Mobile, were rescued...

1906 – The following physicians were listed in the city directory: Arturo Castillo, J.N. Fogarty, Francisco Fors, J.V. Harris, Juan...

1862 – During the month of August there were 150 cases of yellow fever reported by the Army in Key West. The deaths from fever totaled...

1864 – John Whitehead died in New York. He had been a partner of John Simonton, John Fleming and Pardon Greene as the first American...