May
May 1, 1562 - Jean Ribault lands at St. Johns, claims Florida for France
Nearly 50 years after Ponce de Leon claimed "La Florida" for the Spanish, along came the French. This did not please the Spanish.
May 2, 1936 - Panama City Beach incorporated in Bay County
Panama City Beach incorporated in Bay County - Gideon Thomas built the Panama City Hotel in 1935 and aggressively marketed tourism at a time most locals were only interested in farming.
May 3, 1901 - Jacksonville burns to the ground
Photos of the devastation resemble those of European cities firebombed in World War II.
May 4, 1990 - Execution goes awry as flames, smoke shoot from head
The botched execution of Jesse Joseph Tafero and subsequent confession by his accomplice continue to fuel arguments by death penalty opponents.
May 5, 1961 - Alan B. Shepard becomes first American in space
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard becomes first American in space - As remarkable as it was, it scored the U.S. just a silver medal because it came 23 days after a Soviet cosmonaut orbited the Earth. But that embarrassment, combined with the Soviet's launch of the first satellite in 1957, motivated Americans to the moon.
May 6, 1965 - Rolling Stones play Clearwater, write "Satisfaction" riff
A show-stopping "near-riot," creation of the famous "Satisfaction" guitar riff, and discovery of a lost set of photos decades later moves the Rolling Stones' 1965 Clearwater appearance into the annals of rock and roll history.
May 7, 1940 - Voting machine shortages create long wait at polls
Voting machine shortages, challenges by attorneys, illegal canvassing and long, confusing ballots blamed for voting delays throughout the state. Isn't it great such problems are a thing of the past? Oh wait.
May 8, 1923 - Dark stories come to light about peonage, forced labor, whippings and death abetted by the state's justice system
The postmaster's wife was unflappable as she sat in front of the state senator who owned the prison farm. "What I have to testify is for the sake of humanity and to allow the people of the country to know the real truth," she said.
May 9, 1981 - Sinkhole swallows house, five Porsches in Winter Park
Winter Park sinkhole becomes Central Florida's newest tourist attraction.
May 10, 1781 - Spanish Gov. Bernardo de Gálvez captures Pensacola
The surrender following the Spanish land and sea attack left the British with no bases on the Gulf of Mexico, helping the colonists to victory in the American Revolution.
May 11, 1996 - ValuJet Flight 592 crashes into Everglades, killing 110
The plane had just departed Miami International Airport for Atlanta with 110 passengers and crew members aboard when it caught fire.
May 12, 1997 - Tornado hits Miami, poses for photos, videos
A star is born as perhaps the most photographed tornado in history takes a whirlwind tour through Miami.
May 13, 1955 - Jax fans chase Elvis after show, tear off his clothes
A group cornered the singer in his dressing room and tore his clothes off in their competition to grab a souvenir. Elvis had to be rescued by police from what has become known as the "first Presley riot."
May 14, 1973 - Skylab launches new era of space study... and toys
Skylab was also celebrated in popular culture and was featured on kids' lunchboxes, a pinball machine, comic books and the TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man.
May 15, 1947 - Florida State College for Women becomes FSU
It was the latest - and last - of a long, crazy series of name changes at the oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida.
May 16, 1929 - Lake City mob lynches grocer after wife shoots chief
Several lessons can be gleaned from this bizarre story about a grocer's lynching that are still relevant today.
May 17, 1980 - Not guilty verdict triggers three-day Miami riot
By the time the violence quelled on May 19, the death toll had reached 18 -- 10 of them African Americans. Four rioters were killed by police.
May 18, 1955 - Educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune dies
She worked tirelessly to raise funds to expand the school, selling sweet potato pies and fried fish to railroad gangs, singing at fashionable hotels, and calling upon the wealthy.
May 19, 2004 - Drugstore chain owner Jack Eckerd dies at 91His name is no longer on the stores, but less than a decade ago, few Floridians could say they'd never shopped in an Eckerd Drug Store.
May 20, 1913 - Henry Morrison Flagler dies in Palm Beach
Because of Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway, crops could be raised and shipped, building materials could be hauled, and people -- tourists, workers, and residents -- could be shuttled to what was mostly mosquito-ridden scrubland little more than a century ago.
May 21, 1956 - Beach closed after black, white teens caught 'talking'
So why did the Delray Beach police close the beach after finding a 'tense group' of black and white teens 'talking'? Reporting from the front lines of the fight for civil rights was sometimes clear as mud.
May 22, 1931 - Arcadia company starts selling canned rattlesnake
Yep, "Weird Florida" is not a new idea. We've been weird for decades.
May 23, 1898 - School for Deaf & Blind graduates first students
Two deaf students, Artemas W. Pope and Cora Carlton, would marry and raise a future Florida legislator, Verle A. Pope, known as the Lion of St. Johns. Its most famous alumnus, musician Ray Charles, did not graduate.
May 24, 1931 - Writer develops Planet of the Apes storyline for Miami
Poor Richard L. Rinc was halfway to Hollywood riches and didn't know it with his fantasy of ape laborers replacing domestic workers in South Florida.
May 25, 1961 - JFK challenges nation to land on moon within decade
"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish," he said.
May 26, 1845 - Florida holds first statewide election
William Dunn Moseley became the first elected governor and David Levy Yulee won the first race for U.S. House. Yulee did not take his seat and instead was elected one of the state's first two U.S. Senators a short time later
May 27, 1965 - Mysterious land deal near Orlando revealed
The Miami Herald runs banner headline on its front page: "Giant Land Deal Near Orlando Revealed." Something big is afoot. What could it possibly be?
May 28, 1935 - Controversial 'Old Folks at Home' adopted as state song
You know it as "Way Down Upon the Swanee River."
May 29, 1967 - 25 kids in station wagon lands Miami woman in jail
Flori-DUH, 1967-style. Woman jailed after police find 25 kids, loaded handgun in her station wagon.
Nearly 50 years after Ponce de Leon claimed "La Florida" for the Spanish, along came the French. This did not please the Spanish.
May 2, 1936 - Panama City Beach incorporated in Bay County
Panama City Beach incorporated in Bay County - Gideon Thomas built the Panama City Hotel in 1935 and aggressively marketed tourism at a time most locals were only interested in farming.
May 3, 1901 - Jacksonville burns to the ground
Photos of the devastation resemble those of European cities firebombed in World War II.
May 4, 1990 - Execution goes awry as flames, smoke shoot from head
The botched execution of Jesse Joseph Tafero and subsequent confession by his accomplice continue to fuel arguments by death penalty opponents.
May 5, 1961 - Alan B. Shepard becomes first American in space
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard becomes first American in space - As remarkable as it was, it scored the U.S. just a silver medal because it came 23 days after a Soviet cosmonaut orbited the Earth. But that embarrassment, combined with the Soviet's launch of the first satellite in 1957, motivated Americans to the moon.
May 6, 1965 - Rolling Stones play Clearwater, write "Satisfaction" riff
A show-stopping "near-riot," creation of the famous "Satisfaction" guitar riff, and discovery of a lost set of photos decades later moves the Rolling Stones' 1965 Clearwater appearance into the annals of rock and roll history.
May 7, 1940 - Voting machine shortages create long wait at polls
Voting machine shortages, challenges by attorneys, illegal canvassing and long, confusing ballots blamed for voting delays throughout the state. Isn't it great such problems are a thing of the past? Oh wait.
May 8, 1923 - Dark stories come to light about peonage, forced labor, whippings and death abetted by the state's justice system
The postmaster's wife was unflappable as she sat in front of the state senator who owned the prison farm. "What I have to testify is for the sake of humanity and to allow the people of the country to know the real truth," she said.
May 9, 1981 - Sinkhole swallows house, five Porsches in Winter Park
Winter Park sinkhole becomes Central Florida's newest tourist attraction.
May 10, 1781 - Spanish Gov. Bernardo de Gálvez captures Pensacola
The surrender following the Spanish land and sea attack left the British with no bases on the Gulf of Mexico, helping the colonists to victory in the American Revolution.
May 11, 1996 - ValuJet Flight 592 crashes into Everglades, killing 110
The plane had just departed Miami International Airport for Atlanta with 110 passengers and crew members aboard when it caught fire.
May 12, 1997 - Tornado hits Miami, poses for photos, videos
A star is born as perhaps the most photographed tornado in history takes a whirlwind tour through Miami.
May 13, 1955 - Jax fans chase Elvis after show, tear off his clothes
A group cornered the singer in his dressing room and tore his clothes off in their competition to grab a souvenir. Elvis had to be rescued by police from what has become known as the "first Presley riot."
May 14, 1973 - Skylab launches new era of space study... and toys
Skylab was also celebrated in popular culture and was featured on kids' lunchboxes, a pinball machine, comic books and the TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man.
May 15, 1947 - Florida State College for Women becomes FSU
It was the latest - and last - of a long, crazy series of name changes at the oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida.
May 16, 1929 - Lake City mob lynches grocer after wife shoots chief
Several lessons can be gleaned from this bizarre story about a grocer's lynching that are still relevant today.
May 17, 1980 - Not guilty verdict triggers three-day Miami riot
By the time the violence quelled on May 19, the death toll had reached 18 -- 10 of them African Americans. Four rioters were killed by police.
May 18, 1955 - Educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune dies
She worked tirelessly to raise funds to expand the school, selling sweet potato pies and fried fish to railroad gangs, singing at fashionable hotels, and calling upon the wealthy.
May 19, 2004 - Drugstore chain owner Jack Eckerd dies at 91His name is no longer on the stores, but less than a decade ago, few Floridians could say they'd never shopped in an Eckerd Drug Store.
May 20, 1913 - Henry Morrison Flagler dies in Palm Beach
Because of Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway, crops could be raised and shipped, building materials could be hauled, and people -- tourists, workers, and residents -- could be shuttled to what was mostly mosquito-ridden scrubland little more than a century ago.
May 21, 1956 - Beach closed after black, white teens caught 'talking'
So why did the Delray Beach police close the beach after finding a 'tense group' of black and white teens 'talking'? Reporting from the front lines of the fight for civil rights was sometimes clear as mud.
May 22, 1931 - Arcadia company starts selling canned rattlesnake
Yep, "Weird Florida" is not a new idea. We've been weird for decades.
May 23, 1898 - School for Deaf & Blind graduates first students
Two deaf students, Artemas W. Pope and Cora Carlton, would marry and raise a future Florida legislator, Verle A. Pope, known as the Lion of St. Johns. Its most famous alumnus, musician Ray Charles, did not graduate.
May 24, 1931 - Writer develops Planet of the Apes storyline for Miami
Poor Richard L. Rinc was halfway to Hollywood riches and didn't know it with his fantasy of ape laborers replacing domestic workers in South Florida.
May 25, 1961 - JFK challenges nation to land on moon within decade
"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish," he said.
May 26, 1845 - Florida holds first statewide election
William Dunn Moseley became the first elected governor and David Levy Yulee won the first race for U.S. House. Yulee did not take his seat and instead was elected one of the state's first two U.S. Senators a short time later
May 27, 1965 - Mysterious land deal near Orlando revealed
The Miami Herald runs banner headline on its front page: "Giant Land Deal Near Orlando Revealed." Something big is afoot. What could it possibly be?
May 28, 1935 - Controversial 'Old Folks at Home' adopted as state song
You know it as "Way Down Upon the Swanee River."
May 29, 1967 - 25 kids in station wagon lands Miami woman in jail
Flori-DUH, 1967-style. Woman jailed after police find 25 kids, loaded handgun in her station wagon.