1899 – Mortimer Falk, senior member of the firm of S. Falk and Sons, met a committee of striking workers from his cigar factory and after a lengthy discussion agreed to the demands of the strikers. The prices paid by the Gato Factory and Ferdinand Hirsch Factory were adopted for use by the Falk Factory.
1906 – A Category 2 hurricane crossed the Upper Keys, causing damage to the Overseas Railroad under construction. The storm hit the railroad construction crew without warning, killing 164, most when the houseboats in which they were living were carried to sea and sank.
1922 – Robert Gabriel, an African American, died in Key West. He had served as State Representative for Monroe County and City Commissioner of Key West for six years.
1944 – A hurricane with winds up to 80 mph swept across the Keys. The lowest barometer reading was 29.069. The worst damage in the city of Key West was to South Roosevelt Boulevard and the Navy had six vessels in the outer harbor aground.
1995 – Key West’s famous Turtle Kraal Cannery fell into the water of Key West Bight. The city rebuilt the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
1996 – Hurricane Lili passed south of Key West with a little rain and wind.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: The old Turtle Cannery before it fell in the water. Dale McDonald Collection, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/43981287794