August 14

Pritam Singh at Truman Annex in Key West, January 1992.

1887 – Two new cases of yellow fever were reported at Key West in 24 hours, with one death. To date, there had been 242 cases since the epidemic began, with 47 deaths.

1945 – Key West celebrated Japan’s surrender, and the end of WWII, with throngs parading down Duval Street. The Navy Yard announced the news with 10 long blasts on the siren, and all the ships in the harbor sounded their whistles. To maintain safety, all bars and clubs in the city were ordered closed.

1947 – City Commissioner John Carbonnell led a large delegation of from Key West to attend a ceremony in Havana that changed the name of the San Francisco Plaza to Key West Plaza.

1961 – The Monroe County Sheriff was holding a Cuban patrol boat that escaped refugees from the island had taken to Key West two weeks earlier. The U.S. government was negotiating a swap of the vessel for an Eastern Airlines Electra plane that had been hijacked to Cuba.

1976 – Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies, aided by other law enforcement agencies, recovered 10,000 pounds of baled marijuana found floating off North Key Largo. The burlap and plastic covered bales were estimated to have a street value of $2.5 million.

1976 – Edward B. Hart became postmaster of Key West, replacing Clyde Stickney who retired after 21 years of service.

1988 – Pritam Singh held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin construction on the ambitious redevelopment of Truman Annex in Key West.

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Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: Pritam Singh at Truman Annex in Key West, January 1992. Photo by Nancy Klingener. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.