March 25

US Schooner Shark (1821-1846).

1822 – Lt. Matthew C. Perry of the US Schooner Shark raised the American flag over the island of Key West for the first time, and the Keys were formally taken in the name of the United States. Lt. Perry named the island Thompson’s Island and the harbor Port Rogers, in honor of the Secretary of the Navy and president of the Navy Board. A 13-gun salute was then fired, followed by toasts and song.

1851 – Stephen R. Mallory of Key West was elected by the Florida Legislature to be a U.S. Senator.

1926 – Key West Police Chief Cleveland Niles had received numerous complaints about boys spinning tops on the city’s streets, and he vowed that the dangerous and annoying practice, which interfered with traffic, would be stopped at once.

1929 – Celebrated major-league baseball player Ty Cobb was visiting Key West for a fishing trip.

1946 – Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover paid a visit to the Key West Naval Station while on his annual fishing trip to the Keys.

1961 – The beach along South Roosevelt Boulevard was dedicated and named for Florida Senator George Smathers. The Senator attended the ceremony.

1976 – The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the Florida Public Service Commission acted reasonably when it nixed a proposed Miami-to-Key West sightseeing bus line. The PSC said there was no compelling need for the new line when Greyhound buses had been offering a similar service for 40 years. 

1986 – The National Marine Fisheries Service issued an emergency ruling closing the commercial fishing season for kingfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Kingfish had been declared a threatened species.

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

Image: US Schooner Shark (1821-1846). Image U.S. Navy. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.