1884 – The Secretary of War authorized the Marine Hospital Service to use the old Barracks Hospital at Key West, if a large number of yellow fever cases made it necessary.
1910 – Glenwood Kircheimer, riding an Iver-Johnson bicycle, was the winner in a half-mile race on County Road (Flagler Avenue) in Key West. He was awarded a $10 set of new tires as a prize.
1917 – John Lowe Jr. died in Key West at the age of 84. He came to Key West from the Bahamas when he was 15 years old and worked for William Curry. He started his own business and became the leading sponge dealer in Key West. His home at 620 Southard Street is one of the architectural treasures of Key West.
1932 – Governor-elect Dave Sholtz arrived in Key West to inspect the Florida National Guard which was encamped on the Army Grounds near Fort Taylor. He had the highest praise for the regimental band under the director of Caesar LaMonaca.
1994 – To help stem the growing number of migrants entering the Keys, President Bill Clinton announced that all Cuban refugees found in the Florida Straits would be picked up and taken to Guantanamo Naval Base. Harsher sanctions against Fidel Castro’s government were also implemented.
2004 – Lara Hansen, chief climate change scientist with the World Wildlife Fund, spoke throughout the Keys to make residents aware of the effects of climate change. Hansen noted that Keys’ sea levels had risen 7 inches in the last 100 years, and that 60 percent of the area’s pine rocklands had been lost.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The U.S. Army Barracks Hospital at Key West, showing the damage by the 1909 Hurricane. Photo by R.W. Harrison. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.