1853 – The brig Nancy Place, sailing from Cuba, ran ashore at Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas. A letter was sent to Key West on a small boat advising the captain and crew were sick, and the first mate was dead. Immediate assistance was requested. All Key West wreckers were dispatched upon receipt of the news.
1860 – William C. Greene died at the Dry Tortugas. He served as mayor of Key West from 1839 to 1840.
1885 – After days of rumors, Cuban revolutionary generals Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez arrived in Key West via steamship. A large throng of the island’s Cuban citizens, joined by a brass band, greeted the men. Rain prevented a parade through the town. The men were traveling under assumed names to avoid detection by Spanish authorities.
1911 – The 25-ton schooner Willie Wallace got off course and wrecked on a jetty at the entrance to the Northwest Channel. The W. Wallace was in its second voyage and was carrying a cargo of wood to Key West when it ran onto the rocks.
1927 – Pan American Airways flew it first flight from the newly constructed Key West International Airport. Pilots Huey Wells and Eddie Musick, carrying 772 pounds of mail, flew the tri-motor Fokker to Havana.
1954 – Actress Anna Magnani arrived at the Casa Marina Hotel for a few days of rest before filming began on a movie based on Tennessee Williams’ play “The Rose Tattoo.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Pan American Airways first flight from Key West to Havana in the plane General Machado. From the left Henry Barcello, Fred Gelhaus, Gus Alfonso, C.D. Swinson, Charles Morgan, Custom Officer, John Beck, Immigration Officer, C.D. “Slim” Pippinger and Stephen Floyd Whalton October 1927. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.