October 8
- Florida Keys History Center
- Oct 7
- 1 min read
1875 - Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, son of a Cuban revolutionary leader of the same name, was elected Mayor of Key West. The younger de Cespedes also served as president of the Revolutionary Club of Key West and would himself be a fighter for Cuba’s independence from Spain.
1890 – James T. Boyd enlarged his new newspaper, The Key West Advertiser.
1938 – The Cuban Gunboat General Juan Bruno Zayas arrived with Cuban civic and military officials for the celebration of El Grito de Yara.
1940 – The Monroe County Selective Service Board had engaged seven school principals and 73 teachers to serve as registrars to assist in registering all Keys men from the ages of 21 to 35 for the upcoming military draft.
1953 – Mary Lee Graham became the first woman to be elected president of the Key West Chamber of Commerce.
1975 – Charges of accepting unauthorized compensation against former Monroe County Mayor Harry Harris were dropped after the prosecution’s key witness was discredited. Harris had been accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for a vote to allow the construction of a Plantation Key apartment complex.
1997 – Former President George Bush was in the Keys for the annual George Bush bonefish tournament.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Mayor of Key West 1875-76. Gift Gerald Poyo. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
