Today in Keys History – July 31, 2023
- Keys History Center
- Jul 30, 2023
- 2 min read
1823 – Commodore David Porter ordered the USS Hornet to sail from Key West, rendezvous with the U.S. schooner Fox at Havana, and from there investigate a rumored pirate outpost at New Malaga near Yucatan’s Cabo Catoche.
1911 – The Key West City Council approved a contract to pave some of the city streets with Baltimore Bricks.
1924 – Local and federal agricultural and entomological experts left for Cuba to assess rumors of an avocado pest there. If present, the insect would halt imports of Cuban avocados into Key West.
1927 – A Cuban motor launch caught fire and sank in the Northwest Channel off Key West while attempting to smuggle illegal Italian immigrants into the U.S. Four people perished in the accident, and four others were found clinging to a bell buoy. The survivors said the captain swam to a nearby key.
1929 – A boxing match featuring Mutt “Georgia Peach” Griffin and Billy “Cuban Flash” Roque was held at the Cuban Club in Key West.
1934 – Approximately 3,000 Key West residents between the ages of 18 and 65 had enrolled in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration’s voluntary work program, 75% of the available force. The registration deadline was being extended to ensure full participation.
1945 – J. Roland Adams reported that the federal government’s wonder chemical, DDT, had been used against the mosquitoes with marvelous results. He reported that within 10 minutes of spraying, vast swarms of flies and mosquitoes disappeared.
1946 – Captain Ray Knopp in charge of the shark fishing boat Dusky brought in an 1,800-pound mud shark caught in 100 fathoms of water off Rebecca Shoal. The monster was 15 feet in length with green eyes and no back fin and looked like a large sea cow.
1979 – The Monroe County Commission approved building the TV translator system to provide free television throughout the entire county.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Five Mosquito Control trucks C 1950s. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
