Jacksonville, Florida
“The “Million Dollar Pier,” which extends into Tampa Bay from downtown St. Petersburg, was dedicated on this date in 1926. The first pier structure on the site was built in 1889, and due to its popularity as a tourist destination, new piers were constructed over Read More …
“A Saturn IB rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on this date in 1973 carrying the last three astronauts to visit the Spacelab space station. The Skylab 4 (SL-4) mission lasted eighty-four days and the three astronauts completed 1,214 orbits of the earth. The Skylab Read More …
“Eartha Mary Magdalene White was born in Jacksonville Nov 8,1876. Eartha M. M. White was a humanitarian and philanthropist who dedicated her life to the betterment of the poor and needy in Florida, specifically African American communities in Jacksonville. She graduated from the Stanton School Read More …
“Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs became the first African American Secretary of State for Florida on this date in 1868. Gibbs was one of eighteen African American delegates to the 1868 Florida Constitutional Convention. Gibbs was originally from Philadelphia and was only the third black man to Read More …
Canaveral Harbor, on the east coast of Florida in central Brevard County, was dedicated on this date in 1959. Canaveral Harbor, now known as Port Canaveral, is a cruise, cargo, and naval port which has also supported NASA operations since the 1960s, including the Mercury, Read More …
To commemorate their shared history, the Florida Pharmacy Association donated their beautiful centennial plaque to the Jacksonville Public Library in a ceremony earlier today. Both the Florida Pharmacy Association and Jacksonville Public Library once occupied the Board of Trade Building on the corner of Main Read More …
The Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as Pickney’s Treaty, was signed on this date in 1795, in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The treaty’s full title is Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and the United States. Thomas Pinckney negotiated the Read More …
Walt Disney World was officially dedicated by Roy O. Disney on this date in 1971. The October 25 dedication was the culmination of a three-day dedication ceremony, which included a 1,076-piece marching band performing down Main Street, performances by the World Symphony Orchestra, and a Read More …
After launching from Kennedy Space Center on October 11, the crew of Apollo 7, Walter M. Schirra Jr. (commander), Donn F. Eisele (command module pilot), and Walter Cunningham (lunar module pilot) splashed down at 7:11:48 a.m. (EDT) on this day in 1968. It was the Read More …
Five years ago this past Tuesday evening (September 29, 2015) the cargo ship El Faro departed JAXPORT on a routine round-trip voyage to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, just north of the Bahamas, Tropical Storm Joaquin was brewing. Joaquin intensified to a Category 4 hurricane Read More …
The Columbia Restaurant opened its doors on this date in 1905. The Columbia Restaurant is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida, and the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States. The restaurant, which began in Ybor City as a small sixty-seat corner café, now Read More …
Hurricane Dora, the first hurricane on record to make landfall on the extreme northeast coast of Florida, struck just north of St. Augustine on this date in 1964. The storm had sustained winds of 120 mph and caused five deaths and $200 million in damage. Read More …
July 16, 1969 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Ed Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft on this date. Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of the Apollo program, and its target was Read More …
Lewis Thornton Powell was hanged for his role in the conspiracy to kill President Abraham Lincoln on this date in 1865. Powell was not a native Floridian, but he had lived in Live Oak since 1859 with his family, joining the 2nd Florida Infantry in Read More …
July 4, 1776 – Thirteen British colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America signed a Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on this date. Florida was acquired by the British from the Spanish in 1763, and was subsequently divided into Read More …
Fellsmere resident Zena M. Dreier became the first woman in Florida and the southern United States to cast her vote in a municipal non-school election on this date in 1915. Mrs. Dreier cast her vote five years before the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to Read More …
James Weldon Johnson, African American author, composer, lawyer, teacher, and civil rights activist, was born in Jacksonville on this date in 1871. In his early years in Jacksonville, Johnson was educated first by his mother, but later graduated from the Edwin M. Stanton School, where Read More …
The Collins Bridge, the first bridge connecting Miami Beach with Miami, opened on this date in 1913. It was built by early south Florida land developer, John S. Collins, and partially financed by Carl G. Fisher. At the time of completion it was the longest Read More …