R E D I S C OV E R
FLORIDA HISTORY SEPTEMBER 1861 Confederate Brigadier General John B. Grayson embarks on an inspection trip of the defenses along the West Coast, at St. Marks, Apalachicola, Cedar Key and Tampa. 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced today that an initial allocation of $5 million had been made for the construction of the Florida Ship Canal, which would cross the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. 1965 “Freedom Flights” between Cuba and Florida began today. These flights brought a second round of Cuban immigrants to the United States. 1979 Residents of Ft. Lauderdale brace for the onslaught of Hurricane David. Located about 75 miles east of the city, David packed winds of approximately 85 mph and was expected to make landfall in the early morning hours of September 3rd.
OCTOBER 1867 The first post-Civil War voter registration results were filed in Tallahassee. Some 15,441 African-Americans registered to vote compared to 11,151 whites. 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt designated Passage Key in Tampa Bay as a protected breeding reservation for water birds. 1913 The Secretary of the Navy appointed a board to select a site for naval aviation training. Pensacola was eventually chosen as the site and thus began that city's long association with naval fliers. So many aviators pass through the training facility, date, and marry local females, that Pensacola is known as “The Mother of the Navy.” 1980 James Earl “Jimmy” Carter became the first President of the United States to visit the Capitol in Tallahassee. President Carter spent October 9-10 in Tallahassee, slept overnight in the Executive Mansion, and signed into law (in the Chamber of the House of Representatives) the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 appropriating $100 million for refugee relief. 18
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