1978 – David Wolkowsky bought the Kress Building at 500 Duval Street in Key West from Norman Artman for $210,000.

1998 – The USCGC Keeper-class cutter Joshua Appleby (WLM 556) was launched. It was named for the keeper of the Sand Key Lighthouse who was killed by the hurricane of October 11, 1846.

1926 – Boy Scout Troop No.1 of Key West was encamped at Pigeon Key. “There is some of the best fishing and swimming in the world to be had two hundred feet from camp. The boys say that this is the best time they have ever had,” wrote scoutmaster Charles Sands.

1961 – Monroe County Commissioner Clarence Higgs died suddenly at his Grinnell Street home in Key West at age 59. Higgs had been on the commission since 1944, and he was active in organized labor, having served as business manager of the local Carpenters’ Union for 22 years.

1980 – The Monroe County Advertising Commission allocated an additional $10,000 from its budget for advertising in South Florida to help turn around tourism losses resulting from damaging press about the Mariel Boatlift.

1926 – The Key West trolleys and tracks, along with their accompanying electric lines, began to be removed from city streets. The cars, because they were not of a standard gauge and were of an obsolete “open” style, would be sold for scrap.

1994 – The number of Cuban refugees who successfully crossed the Florida Straits in 1994 surpassed the 3,656 who completed the journey in 1993. Authorities estimated that only 4 out of 10 who attempted the crossing were successful.

1926 – Jumbo, a loggerhead sea turtle, celebrated his third birthday at the aquarium at the eastern end of Key West. Jumbo had been hatched in a sandbox onboard Peter Roberts’ fishing boat and then hand-raised alongside Roberts’ dock for two years, before being transferred to the aquarium because of his increasing size.

2001 – The City of Key West banned commercial kayaking tours in the island’s Salt Ponds.

1887 – As yellow fever raged across Key West, local health officers and officials of the Marine Hospital Service discussed a plan to remove people who were not “acclimated” to the disease from the island city to another key.

1923 – The local Key West baseball team defeated the visiting Havana Police Department contingent 5 to 3. Will Daughtry and “Midget” Sevilla were the outstanding players.

1992 – Key West’s El Salvador United Methodist Church disbanded after 115 years.

1979 – Acclaimed playwright and Key West resident Tennessee Williams and his friend Datson Rader were assaulted on Duval Street. Both men were punched but neither needed medical attention. Williams said of the attackers, “Maybe they weren't punks at all, but instead New York drama critics.”

1975 – A new city arena for horse shows and other equestrian events opened at Peary Court with a two-day championship rodeo sponsored by the Key West Fire Department. The arena was dedicated to Gilbert Gates, Jr. and Larry Brennan, two Key West boys electrocuted in a tragic boating accident.

2010 – After multiple chicken poisonings in Key West and Stock Island over previous days, Lower Keys wildlife organizations were worried about not only the brazenly illegal acts, but also the effects that poisoned feed and tainted carcasses would have on other animals.

1960 – Monroe County Supervisor of Registration Wm. “Billy” Freeman reported a total of 16,027 registered voters – the most in county history. Of those, 15,407 were Democrats, 516 were Republicans, and 104 were registered as Independents.

1983 – A group of New York actors, playwrights and theater supporters tried to purchase the late Tennessee Williams’s home in Key West for a museum. The effort failed from the lack of support and the difficulties of converting a house located in a quiet residential neighborhood into a commercial facility.

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.”

1985 – An early morning fire destroyed the Siboney Inn at the corner of Truman Avenue and Elizabeth Street in Key West, as well as an adjacent residence at 919 Elizabeth. Three firefighters were overcome by smoke while battling the large blaze.

1951 – The Monroe County Commission assumed management of Monroe General Hospital, taking over from the board of trustees that had been running the facility. The change came after a long period of complaints about the quality of care at the hospital.