July 27

Key West International Airport, late 1950s.

1894 – Captain Musterd of the brig Caspian died at the Dry Tortugas. The brig had earlier run aground there and was assisted off by wreckers.

1933 – The 49-foot Smith Shoal lighthouse, 11 miles NNW of Key West, was lit for the first time.

1933 – George Babcock died at his home at age 64. Babcock was mayor of Key West from 1905 to 1907, and he had also served on the city council and as city treasurer.

1956 – Construction of Key West’s new International Airport was expected to cost $1.1 million by the time of its scheduled opening in March 1957. The facility was badly needed as the number of passengers was growing considerably, from 39,000 in 1947 to an estimated 170,000 in 1956.

1960 – Key West’s Eckwood Solomon, Jr. was awarded the Philippine Military Academy’s “Order of Merit.” Solomon was an exchange student from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

1981 – Peter Pell, one of the founders of Key West Hand Print Fabrics, died suddenly at his home in Key West. Pell, along with his partner James Russell, had founded Hand Print Fabrics in the early 1960’s.

2011 – A 54-year-old fisherman died after snorting powder from a suspected brick of cocaine he and his brother had found floating off Fiesta Key. After the man partook of the discovery, he became violent and started destroying the boat. He was eventually taken into custody and later died at a Miami hospital.

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

Image: Key West International Airport, late 1950s. From the L.P. Artman Jr. Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.