1926 – Two men attempted to break into the Key West Custom House by drilling a 12-inch diameter hole through the basement wall, hoping to access the area where seized liquor, jewelry, cigars, narcotics, and other valuables were kept. A night watchman encountered the men and fired shots at them, but they escaped via the waterfront.

1947 – Jack Dietz announced that a contract for $62,900 had been let to build the 28-room Blue Marlin Motel on Simonton Street in Key West.

1968 – National Air Lines made the first jet landing at Key West International Airport using a Boeing 727. The county had extended the runway and removed obstructions to make the airport usable for jets.

1976 – The Monroe County Courthouse in Key West was being renovated for the upcoming national Bicentennial celebration. Among the improvements were new flooring and new interior paint. A 20-by-8-foot mural depicting the history of the Keys was also being rendered by artist Paul Stevens.

1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized in the Masonic Temple located over the First National Bank on Simonton Street. Judge James W. Locke was president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary, and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The Association had a public library of 1,200 volumes and a free reading room supported by dues and fees of members and patrons. Mrs. William Delacy was the Librarian.

1926 – The Brethren meeting at the Gospel Chapel at 720 Southard Street in Key West began a three-day conference that would run until the close of Sunday evening services.

1956 – The auto ferry TMT Cuba began service between Key West and Havana, becoming the second ferry service at the time to provide passage between the two cities. Local and Cuban government and military officials were on hand for the “bon voyage” party held at the ferry’s dock at the end of Duval Street.

1995 – The City of Key West and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation were evaluating plans to replace the chain link fence surrounding the Key West Cemetery with a historic-looking fence resembling wrought-iron. One estimate priced the project at $238,000.

1898 – The steamer Olivette arrived at Key West with 45 survivors of the U.S. Battleship Maine, which had exploded in Havana Harbor. The wounded were received at the Marine Hospital.

1924 – A hunting party from Key West reported that deer were plentiful on Big Pine Key, though they were difficult to shoot. One herd of deer was observed swimming from Doctor’s Arm to No Name Key; others were thought to range as far west as Boca Chica Key.

1960 – Florida Governor LeRoy Collins dedicated and christened John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first wholly underwater park in the world. A crowd of over 1,000 attended the ceremony at Harry Harris Oceanfront Park near Tavernier.

1996 – Key West native and aviation pioneer Steven F. Whalton died on his 96th birthday. He was the third employee of Pan American World Airways.

1993 – Renowned author James Leo Herlihy died in California. Herlihy had lived in Key West from 1956 to 1972 and was an integral part of the island’s then-burgeoning literary community. Two of his best-known books, both made into movies, were “Midnight Cowboy” and “All Fall Down.”

1865 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Arnold – all convicted as conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln – arrived at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas to serve their prison terms. They joined 552 other prisoners being held there.

1935 – The Key West Tree Guild was organized, with Wallace B. Kirke as president. The guild’s mission was “to provide a medium through which tree lovers can work and help in developing shade trees on the island.”

1907 – The Excavator No.1 boat was blown up and destroyed by a gasoline explosion while employed on the Florida East Coat Railroad extension. Capt. Benjamin Peacon and Sonny Parks of Key West were severely burned and brought to the island for treatment.

1962 – Rudy’s Bar was at 124 Duval Street, occupying the former Key West Custom House building, which had been moved to the location in 1891.

1974 – Fire destroyed the La Plaza grocery at 630 Fleming Street in Key West and an adjacent store and conch house at 628 and 624 Fleming. An Elizabeth Street home was damaged. The grocery building, across from the Key West Library, originally housed Pierce Bros. Hardware, established 75 years earlier.

1961 – Key West marine salvager Chet Alexander recovered a large, coral-encrusted anchor from an old wooden shipwreck found between the Sand Key Lighthouse and the reef. Alexander suspected the vessel was caught in a hurricane when it went down.

1960 – Monroe County commissioners ordered staff to develop regulations for the development of new Keys subdivisions. Commissioner A. Maitland Adams noted, “Subdivision developers are providing only one foot of elevation in many cases; miles of canals are being dug without regard to general development.”