1890 – William D. Bloxham was appointed State Comptroller on this date. Bloxham served as Florida’s governor from 1881-1885, then again from 1897-1901. He was born on a plantation in Leon County on July 9^th, 1835 (only the second native governor at the time) and became interested in politics at a young age. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1861, also serving in the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Bloxham also served briefly as Secretary of State in 1880, and U.S. Surveyor General for Florida from 1885-1889. Bloxham died in 1911 in Tallahassee.

1562 –Two small French ships with 140 Huguenots led by Jean Ribaut landed in Florida on this date. Using the instructions from Verrazano's voyage of North America, Jean Ribaut reached the coast of Florida near St. Augustine. He sailed northward to the mouth of a wide river the Spaniards called "The St. Johns", but which Ribaut renamed "the River of May." On the banks of the St. Johns River, Ribaut erected a stone marker with the French Coat of arms announcing France's claim to Florida. The group traveled north to what is today South Carolina and built fort Charlesfort.

1818 – Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot were hanged by American soldiers led by then General Andrew Jackson at St. Marks on this date. The two British citizens were tried and sentenced in a military court for espionage and aiding the enemy during the First Seminole War. Jackson’s intention was to blame the Seminole War on outside foreign agitators such as Ambrister and Arbuthnot in order to justify U.S. military intervention into Spanish Florida. The incident gained international attention and Jackson’s actions in Florida were under close scrutiny.

1911 –The legislature passed the Sanford Charter Bill, and the town of Goldsboro in Seminole County was dissolved. Historical Goldsboro was founded in 1891 as the second all African American town in the State of Florida, Historic Eatonville being the first. Registered voters in what had been the village of Goldsboro met on Dec. 1, 1891, at a store opened by William Clark in 1886. The year after incorporation, the first community school was opened, a post office was established and Zion Methodist became the first church.

1909 –The Florida House of Representatives approves the orange blossom (citrus sinensis)as the official State Flower of Florida. La Florida, Spanish for “land of flowers”, was named by Ponce de Leon in 1513. When it came to declaring an official state flower, the Land of Flowers had many, many choices. There was much support for the camellia and much support for the gardenia, but the native orange blossom's fragrance and widespread appeal won the honor.

1911 –The legislature passed the Sanford Charter Bill, and the town of Goldsboro in Seminole County was dissolved. Historical Goldsboro was founded in 1891 as the second all African American town in the State of Florida, Historic Eatonville being the first. Registered voters in what had been the village of Goldsboro met on Dec. 1, 1891, at a store opened by William Clark in 1886. The year after incorporation, the first community school was opened, a post office was established and Zion Methodist became the first church.

1928 – The Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), linking Miami and Naples through the Everglades, officially opened to travelers on this date. Construction on the east-west section of the road lasted for 12 years. Once completed, cars could travel east from Naples to Miami for the first time. Before the completion of the Tamiami Trail, wetlands, alligators, mosquitoes and cypress swamps made traveling across southern Florida extremely difficult, and few travelers were able to complete the 108 mile journey.

1913 – Happy Birthday Bay County, which was carved out of Washington and part of Calhoun County on this date. In February 1913, representatives from five towns on St. Andrews Bay met in Panama City to select a name for a proposed new county. Panama City was chosen as the county seat a year later and remains the most populous city. The name Bay was selected because it was satisfactory to the majority of the citizens and was descriptive of the territory that would be included. The population of Bay County in 1920 was 11,407, in 2010 it swelled to 168,852.

1982 – The Florida Keys seceded from the Union and the Conch Republic was born on this date. On April 18, 1982, the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock just south of Florida City, on U.S. Highway 1, to catch illegal immigrants traveling to and from the Florida Keys. The Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience for travelers to and from Key West, claiming that it hurt the Keys' important tourism industry.

1988 - The Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic were named two of four new franchise teams in the National Basketball Association on this date.  The Heat would start play in 1988 and the Magic in 1989. The Heat would go on to win three NBA championships, four conference titles and 11 division titles, while the Magic have won two conference titles and five division titles.