1876 – A hurricane of minor intensity hit Key West with winds of 75 mph and slight damage to roofs and trees.
1901 – Key West city officials were looking for a new cemetery site. The cemetery was crowded and there was not much room left. Officials said the old cemetery in the heart of town and the new one should be removed some distance from town for sanitary reasons.
1927 – To fulfill its contract with the U.S. Post Office, Pan American Airways hired pilot Cy Caldwell to fly a single-engine seaplane from Key West to Havana. He left Key West at 8:04 a.m. carrying seven sacks of mail, containing 30,000 letters. He landed in Havana 62 minutes later and saved the airline, which could not begin regular service with its own planes until Oct. 28.
1942 – The new Naval Hospital on South Roosevelt was commissioned and Captain Jessie W. Allen (MC) USN assumed duties as the first Commanding officer.
1979 – The Harry S. Truman Animal Import Center on Fleming Key, the first of it kind on U.S. soil, was dedicated. The main speaker was Gov. Bob Graham.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: Cy Caldwell sitting on the plane La Nina before making the first flight from Key West to Havana for Pan American Airways on Oct. 19, 1927. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/8500182221