1956 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law, enjoyed a two-hour drive up the Keys along U.S.1. The group departed from Key West’s Little White House for the journey.

1930 - The Key West Woman’s Club, the Salvation Army, and the U.S. Army distributed 291 Christmas dinners to the poor of the city.

2000 – After a two-year overhaul, the WWII-era patrol torpedo boat PT-728 was launched at Stock Island. The historic vessel would be berthed in Key West Bight and available for passenger tours.

1955 – Filming of the movie “Carib Gold” began in Key West. The film, which told the tale of shrimpers discovering a sunken treasure, featured a largely Black cast, including actors Ethel Waters, Coley Wallace, and Cicely Tyson.

1994 – Key Wester Frank Baing (aka the “Conch Salad Man”) died at the age of 93. Baing ran a Petronia Street a produce market, and in the 1950’s he began to sell food at Mallory Square. Baing was an icon of the early Key West sunset celebration.

1960 – After the accidental shooting of a Miami man on No Name Key, Monroe County Sheriff’s officials denied reports the island was being used as an amphibious invasion training ground by Cuban refugees. Instead, they said, it was a group of unemployed drifters who had decided to “live off the land” of the remote key.

1924 – The cornerstone of the new St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Center Street in Key West was laid by the Reverend Cameron Mann, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Florida.

2008 – Due to the year-long economic down-turn, Florida Keys marinas were struggling to fill slips. Many were on the verge of bankruptcy.

1974 – Filming for “92 in the Shade” began at the Cow Key Marina on Stock Island, with actors Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and Margot Kidder. The film, based on author Thomas McGuane’s novel of the same name, told a tale of rival Keys charter fishermen.

1935 – The Commandant’s residence on the Naval Station in Key West was being refurbished and refurnished in readiness for occupancy by visitors from Washington. Among those anticipated to be staying in the residence was Marvin McIntyre, secretary to President Roosevelt.

1962 – As tensions with Cuba increased, the FAA constructed a temporary control tower at Key West International Airport overnight. In addition, many military personnel arrived over the weekend.

1993 – Renowned author James Leo Herlihy died in California. Herlihy had lived in Key West from 1956 to 1972 and was an integral part of the island’s then-burgeoning literary community. Two of his best-known books, both made into movies, were “Midnight Cowboy” and “All Fall Down.”

1975 – The “Doomsday Atlas” prepared by the U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency showed that the area from Sugarloaf Key to Key West would be devastated in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union due to an attack on the Naval Air Station at Boca Chica.

1938 – Key Wester Charles F. Dupont died at age 77. In 1888, he became the first elected African American Sheriff in Florida when he was selected by Monroe County voters. He served as Monroe County Sheriff for five years. Key West’s DuPont Lane is named in his honor.

1925 – A celebration was held for the opening of the Boca Chica bridge, the first step in the new Overseas Highway being built through the Florida Keys. A “mammoth motorcade” left Key West, crossed Stock Island and then traversed the new bridge to Rocky Point on Boca Chica Key for the celebration.

1925 – A freight train derailed at Marathon. A wrecking crew from Key West was dispatched immediately after receiving the news, but clearing the tracks delayed the arrival of the passenger train from morning to afternoon.

1940 – Mabel McKinney sold her Key Largo property fronting the highway and known as “Mabel’s Place” for $1500 to A.K. Gray of Miami.

1960 – Betty Bruce proposed that a collection of pictures, maps, and books telling of the history of old Key West would be a worthy addition to the Monroe County Public Library, and she encouraged local persons to donate such materials “so that a real Key West historical corner could be established.”

1865 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Arnold – all convicted as conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln – arrived at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas to serve their prison terms. They joined 552 other prisoners being held there.

1961 – Key West marine salvager Chet Alexander recovered a large, coral-encrusted anchor from an old wooden shipwreck found between the Sand Key Lighthouse and the reef. Alexander suspected the vessel was caught in a hurricane when it went down.