1875 - Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, son of a Cuban revolutionary leader of the same name, was elected Mayor of Key West. The younger de Cespedes also served as president of the Revolutionary Club of Key West and would himself be a fighter for Cuba’s independence from Spain.

1960 – A two-day “autorama,” presented by Bevis Lewis Chevrolet, Estenoz Motors, K.T. Motors, Duncan Auto Sales, and Navarro, Inc., began at the Food Fair Shopping Center in Key West. The gala event gave the public a first look at the new 1961 automobile models.

1985 – The Monroe County Commission named the public library branch at Islamorada in honor of the branch’s librarian, Helen Wadley.

1985 – The City of Key West listed privately owned areas of the Key West salt ponds as desirable for purchase by the State of Florida under its Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program. Many residents considered the ponds to be the last remaining natural expanse on the island.

1935 – The landing barge for the Miami-Key West Airways seaplanes was moved from the railroad terminus to the yacht basin (the former Naval Station submarine basin), which was better located and better protected. It was hoped the change would foster daily round-trip flights between the two cities.

2005 – The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at Florida Keys Community College was forced to close after being damaged by multiple tropical weather systems over the summer. A 500-seat, air-conditioned tent was to be erected in the parking lot to serve as an interim venue until repairs could be made.

1955 – A “price war” erupted amongst Key West motel owners after Max Cohen, who owned three motels, began advertising $2 rooms. In response, the owners of eight other businesses posted signs advertising free rooms to stop Cohen from continuing his drastic price cuts.

1925 – Four stowaways were found hidden in the oil tank of the P.& O. railroad car ferry Jos. R. Parrott when it landed at Key West from Havana. The men, who claimed to have been born in Portugal, were expected to be sent back to Cuba.

1908 – The Mallory Steamship Co. announced that, effective Oct. 1, its New York-to-Galveston line would no longer call at Key West. Instead, a new line from Mobile and Tampa would service the island, though a Galveston-to-New York vessel would still stop at Key West on Saturdays for freight and passengers.

1960 – Hurricane Donna passed over the Middle and Upper Keys with 150-mph winds, causing extensive damage: Over half of the structures from Marathon to Islamorada were destroyed; tides were 9 to 13.5 feet above normal; six highway bridges were severely damaged, and the water pipeline was wrecked in five places.

2010 – Buyers from China, Taiwan, and other overseas markets were paying between $5 and $7 per pound for spiny lobster, making Florida Keys crawfishermen very happy. These prices were double what they had been the previous year.

1976 – President Gerald Ford signed the authorization to transfer ownership of Key West’s Fort Taylor to the State of Florida.

1994 – More than 17,000 Cuban refugees had crossed the Florida Straits during the month. It was the largest Cuban exodus since the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

1945 – The Midget Bar, at the corner of Greene and Ann streets in Key West, featured music by the Melody Boys, Gibly and Tuba, and “the beautiful blonde singer” Van. Also on the evening’s bill was an eating exhibition by Jimmie, “the eatingist woman in South Florida.”

1933 – The wife, daughters, and grandchildren of recently deposed Cuban President Gerardo Machado arrived at Key West on the yacht Gen. Juan B. Zayas. Local officials offered them safe conduct, and a special train was arranged to take them northward.

1958 – The Civil Aeronautics Administration agreed to relinquish any federal claim to the ownership of the Marathon Airport if title was obtained by Monroe County. County commissioners ordered the process to begin.

1968 – The Pier House Motel at Duval-On-the-Gulf opened for business. The 50-room motel was developed by Key Wester David Wolkowsky.

1962 – The House Appropriations Committee in Washington approved a $2,516,000 expenditure for a new bachelor officers’ quarters building to be located on the Trumbo Seaplane Base. The new facility would be centrally located and replace all existing BOQs on the base.

1941 – The old Consumers’ Ice Plant at James and Grinnell streets in Key West burned. Firefighters had an especially difficult time with the idle structure’s cork insulation, which smoldered for hours after the main blaze was extinguished.

1960 – Key West police officer Cpl. Harry Sawyer was chosen “most outstanding law enforcement officer of the year” by the Key West Junior Chamber of Commerce. It was the first time in six years that a Key West officer had won the coveted county-wide honor.