History

Today we honor Florida’s former Speaker of the House, Donald L. Tucker – first elected in 1966 representing Leon, Franklin and Wakulla counties, reelected five times, and the only Speaker of the Florida House to serve two consecutive terms.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, is recognized as International Day of Non-Violence to commemorate the birthday of renowned Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. The United Nations established this day in 2007 in an effort to spread the message of nonviolence through public education and awareness.

On Oct. 1, 1971, Walt Disney World in Orlando officially opened to the public, with the park’s dedication ceremony held Oct. 25.

Established in 1947, The U.S. Air Force (USAF) turns 72 on Wednesday, Sept. 18. According to its website, the lessons learned during World War II pushed the U.S. to explore possibilities both technologically and organizationally, which led to the separation of the Air Force into a separate branch of the military.

The origin of Florida’s capital in Tallahassee is rooted in compromise. In the earliest days of “American Florida,” territorial legislators worked in Pensacola and St. Augustine in alternating legislative sessions. Tired of making the dangerous and lengthy trip, legislators chose Tallahassee, a midway point between Florida’s earliest large cities, as the capital in 1824.

From a Sept. 4, 1951 conference in San Francisco, California, President Harry S. Truman delivered remarks heard, and for the first time, seen, across the nation.

Tuesday, Sept. 10 marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma making landfall in Cudjoe Key.

While American football can trace its roots back to the mid-1800s, the tradition of the tight, circular huddle began in 1892 to serve a very niche purpose.

Hawaii is the newest addition to the United States, celebrating its 60th anniversary of statehood on Aug. 21.

This week in history, 120 years ago, Alfred Hitchcock was born on Aug. 13, 1899, in London, England.

Did you know that Florida is considered the golf capital of the United States? Florida has more than 1,000 golf courses across the state – more than any other state in the country. Many of these are open to the public.

In celebration of Amelia Earhart’s birthday, born July 24, 1897, we reflect on two of the many accomplishments made during her storied career.

On July 10, 1893, 126 years ago, a medical breakthrough occurred as Dr. Daniel Hale Williams completed the first successful open-heart surgery. As an African-American doctor raised in post-Reconstruction America, Dr. Williams battled unthinkable racism and professional obstacles throughout his historic career.

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law 55 years ago on July 2, 1964. This legislation illegalized discriminating against individuals based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This bill paved the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protected African Americans’ voting rights, and went on to enforce equal rights for women.

Independence Day is celebrated on the Fourth of July every year, commemorating the United States’ Declaration of Independence, which was signed in 1776.

On June 13, 1971, The New York Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers, a collection of top-secret documents exposing the U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War. The papers serve as a United States Department of Defense timeline of the country’s political and military involvement in Vietnam.

Apalachicola resident Dr. John Gorrie was an early pioneer in the invention of the artificial manufacture of ice, refrigeration and air conditioning. He was granted the first United States patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851. Dr. Gorrie’s basic principle is the one most often used in refrigeration today: cooling caused by the rapid expansion of gases.

More than 235 years ago, with the United States in its infancy and just months away from the end of the Revolutionary War, The Pennsylvania Evening Post delivered America’s first daily newspaper on May 30, 1783.

First announced on Aug. 31, 1949, by the Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and supported with a presidential proclamation on Feb. 20, 1950, by President Harry S. Truman, Armed Forces Day is a day to celebrate the United States’ military. Today, Armed Forces Day is observed on the third Saturday of May.

Nearly 230 years ago this week, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was established with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement in a meeting of 24 New York City stockbrokers on May 17, 1792.

Did you know Florida has both a state song and a state anthem?

From March 23 to May 4, the Havana History and Heritage Center is hosting the Smithsonian Institution’s “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” a Museum on Main Street exhibition.

Among the 2018 inductees to the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame is Adela Hernandez Gonzmart. Adela was known as “the queen of Ybor City” and served as the figurehead and supreme hostess at the world-famous Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City until her death in 2001.

National Women’s History Month was created to highlight the many unsung female figures in our nation’s history. Each of us has benefited from contributions made by women who have helped to build and protect America.

Presidents Day is celebrated on the third Monday in February. The holiday was initially established in the 1880s to commemorate the birthday of the first president, George Washington. Following the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, the holiday commonly came to be known as Presidents Day.

Florida’s Cabinet consists of the governor and three constitutionally elected state executives overseeing several boards and commissions, including clemency hearings.

Dictionary.com announced “misinformation” comes in first place as 2018’s word of the year, following “complicit” from last year. Misinformation is defined as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.”

Tributes come in large and small narratives and are always impactful. President Bush’s influence on my career began when I opened his 1988 Florida campaign office. I worked on his inauguration, and later, enjoyed a four-year stint at the Republican National Committee, campaigning on Republican ideals and believing in a cause greater than myself.

A new WikiProject, Women in Red, demands greater recognition for female historical figures by increasing the number of biographies about women on Wikipedia.

America celebrates six decades of space exploration this year. On Jan. 31, 1958, the United States launched its first satellite from Cape Canaveral.