May 7
- Florida Keys History Center
- May 6
- 2 min read
1822 – Congress established Key West as a Port of Entry and Joel Yancy was appointed the first Collector of Customs.
1927 – Cuban President Gerardo Machado was greeted by a large crowd when he boarded the steamer Governor Cobb for his return to Cuba after a two-week visit to the United States. He had visited Washington, New York, and Chicago during his stay.
1936 – Visits to the Key West Aquarium were made part of the curriculum of local schools, and the Harris School’s First Grade “A” class was among the first to view the exhibits and hear lectures on biology.
1940 – The Monroe County Democratic primary was held. The winners were: Bernie C. Papy, state representative; Raymond Lord, county judge; Berlin A. Sawyer, sheriff; Claude A. Gandolfo, tax assessor; Joe E. McMahon, tax collector; Harry Dongo, clerk criminal court; Clarence Pierce, school board; Carlyle Roberts, school board; Eduardo C. Gomez, county commission; Braxton Warren, county commission; and Norberg Thompson, county commission.
1946 – In the Monroe County Democratic primary, Bernie C. Papy was re-elected as the state representative and Gerald Saunders was elected for the first time to the county commission.
1946 – The Key West General Hospital invited eight physicians to be on its consulting staff: Drs. Thomas O. Otto, surgeon; E. Clay Shaw, urologist; Sterling E. Nichols, cardiologist; Michael Price DeBoe, ENT; Ralph Jack, obstetrician; Wiley M. Sams, dermatologist; and Francis W. Glenn, orthopedist.
1976 – David Brinkley was in Key West filming part of a Bicentennial special to be shown on the NBC television network.
1986 – Treasure salvor Mel Fisher, hoping “to keep Truman Annex for Key West,” offered a down payment of silver recovered from the Spanish galleon Atocha for the former Navy base. The General Services Administration did not consider Fisher’s unconventional bid.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West General Hospital adjacent to the Botanical Garden, ca. 1950. Wright Langley collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
