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

1976 – The proprietors of Molina’s bakery at 1121 Margaret Street in Key West donated a 53-year-old bread oven to the Key West Art & Historical Society’s East Martello Museum for its Cuban culture section. After operating seven days a week since 1923, the tile and brick oven had produced millions of loaves of Cuban bread for hungry Key Westers.

1924 – The Barnes Sound Bridge at Key Largo was completed. As soon as a small stretch of road was finished near Florida City, this would allow motorists to travel between Dade and Monroe counties.

1966 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce agreed to accommodate the multi-million-dollar local seafood industry by adding a board seat for a representative from the trade.

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.

2011 – Concerned divers and the city of Key West began crafting a plan to stabilize two massive dish-type antennae on the wreck of the Hoyt S. Vandenberg. The 22-foot-tall, 80-ton structures were beginning to come loose, and it was feared they would fall in a storm.

1929 – Work commenced on a new Standard Oil Co. gasoline filling station at 829 Fleming Street, on the corner of Margaret, in Key West.

1926 – Two men attempted to break into the Key West Custom House by drilling a 12-inch diameter hole through the basement wall, hoping to access the area where seized liquor, jewelry, cigars, narcotics, and other valuables were kept. A night watchman encountered the men and fired shots at them, but they escaped via the waterfront.

1947 – Jack Dietz announced that a contract for $62,900 had been let to build the 28-room Blue Marlin Motel on Simonton Street in Key West.

1968 – National Air Lines made the first jet landing at Key West International Airport using a Boeing 727. The county had extended the runway and removed obstructions to make the airport usable for jets.

1976 – The Monroe County Courthouse in Key West was being renovated for the upcoming national Bicentennial celebration. Among the improvements were new flooring and new interior paint. A 20-by-8-foot mural depicting the history of the Keys was also being rendered by artist Paul Stevens.

1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized in the Masonic Temple located over the First National Bank on Simonton Street. Judge James W. Locke was president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary, and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The Association had a public library of 1,200 volumes and a free reading room supported by dues and fees of members and patrons. Mrs. William Delacy was the Librarian.

1926 – The Brethren meeting at the Gospel Chapel at 720 Southard Street in Key West began a three-day conference that would run until the close of Sunday evening services.

1956 – The auto ferry TMT Cuba began service between Key West and Havana, becoming the second ferry service at the time to provide passage between the two cities. Local and Cuban government and military officials were on hand for the “bon voyage” party held at the ferry’s dock at the end of Duval Street.

1995 – The City of Key West and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation were evaluating plans to replace the chain link fence surrounding the Key West Cemetery with a historic-looking fence resembling wrought-iron. One estimate priced the project at $238,000.

1898 – The steamer Olivette arrived at Key West with 45 survivors of the U.S. Battleship Maine, which had exploded in Havana Harbor. The wounded were received at the Marine Hospital.

1924 – A hunting party from Key West reported that deer were plentiful on Big Pine Key, though they were difficult to shoot. One herd of deer was observed swimming from Doctor’s Arm to No Name Key; others were thought to range as far west as Boca Chica Key.

1960 – Florida Governor LeRoy Collins dedicated and christened John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first wholly underwater park in the world. A crowd of over 1,000 attended the ceremony at Harry Harris Oceanfront Park near Tavernier.

1996 – Key West native and aviation pioneer Steven F. Whalton died on his 96th birthday. He was the third employee of Pan American World Airways.

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.”