1839 – The brig Arabian, sailing from Charleston to New Orleans, went ashore at the Tortugas with a cargo of rice, beans, and an untold number of enslaved people. Wreckers stationed there managed to get the brig off with only slight damage, and it was taken to Key West for repair.
1923 – A fire began in the unoccupied cigar factory at the corner of White and Newton Streets. It spread and destroyed forty-three homes in the area bound by White, Ashe, Angela and Petronia Streets. The loss was estimated at $125,000 and 40 families were left homeless.
1931 – Harry Harkness Flagler, son of Henry M. Flagler, arrived for his first visit to Key West via his first ride on the Overseas Railroad, his father’s crowning achievement.
1931 – The Florida Keys lime crop was expected to be significantly lower than average because some malady was causing blossoms to drop prematurely.
1946 – Miss Gloria Acevedo, the 20-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Florencio Acevedo, was chosen queen of the Key West Sponge Festival with 493,890 votes. Dolores Thornley was runner-up with 423,830 votes.
1956 – May Sands, a teacher in the Monroe County School System for 47 years, died at the age of 71. The May Sands School was named for her.
1959 – The Navy made the last operational flight with an airship from Naval Air Station Key West. All the airships (blimps) were transferred to Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia.
1964 – A hijacked, Soviet built, helicopter landed undetected at Key West International Airport. Two Cuban Army Captains had hijacked the craft and in the struggle the pilot was killed.
1991 – A Cuban MiG-23 fighter jet landed undetected at the Naval Air Station, Key West. The pilot, 38-year-old Orestes Lorenzo Perez, circled the Boca Chica base three times while waggling his wings as a sign of friendly intentions, hoping he would not be shot down. Upon landing, he immediately requested political asylum.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Workers repairing Navy blimp K33 on December 9, 1952. U.S. Navy Photo from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.