1822 – Excerpt from the Logbook of the U.S. Schooner Shark LCDR M.C. Perry commanding. Remarks, Tuesday, September 17th Wind still inclining to the Northward enabling us to steer more to the Eastward, a heavy head Sea however retards our progress very much, and what with a strong westerly Current which at all times prevails in this part of the Atlantic, and the Lee Way which we necessarily make, I have almost given up the idea of seeing the Island. Lat. 19.44 N. Long. 28.04 W. On the Sick List 5. Expenditure of Water 62 1/2 Gallons, Remains on Board 2637 1/2 Gallons Exp. Provisions 167 lbs. Bread, 50 lbs. Beef, 13 lbs. Butter, 4 1/2 Gls. Spirits.
1902 – A shark measuring 15 feet was caught from Curry’s Wharf near the harbor end of Simonton Street.
1917 – C.W. Saunderson resigned his seat on the Key West City Commission as he had received his Army Commission.
1930 – The Key West City Council ordered a reduction in salaries of 18 city officials and abolished four police positions due to the Depression and people not paying taxes.
1947 – The Strand Theater signed a $25,000 contract to install a 60-ton air-conditioning system.
1947 – A Category 4 hurricane that hit the mainland caused winds of 56 mph in Key West with some minor flooding.
1955 – The State of Florida leased oil rights on 734,760 acres of Monroe County bay bottom land to the California Company for $1,106,000. The county did not receive any money from the deal.
1993 – A defecting Cuban Air Force pilot landed his MIG-21 fighter plane at the Naval Air Station. The plane was detected on radar about four minutes before it landed.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: The Strand Theater at 529 Duval St., circa 1960. Photo by Key West Press, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/6062980022