1897 – April 21: Bartow gets its first electric street lights on this date! Shown: Main Street shortly after electric streetlights were put in use, looking west from Florida Avenue. Gent's Furnishing is located in the building in left foreground. Lytle and Lybass Livery Stables and C. Schultz are located in the building in center of photograph.
1967 – The Florida State Legislature designated orange juice as the official beverage of Florida on this date. Citrus has been an integral part of Florida’s history since the first Europeans arrived on its shores and it remains an important component of Florida’s agricultural industry.
1857 – Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Florida’s 19th governor was born on this date in Duval County. Broward had an interesting career prior to being governor, first working on steamboats in and around Jacksonville eventually becoming one of the best captains in the region. He was appointed sheriff of Duval County and gained influen...ce among the city’s politicians and other powerful individuals. Broward was elected to the State Legislature in 1900 and ran for governor in 1904.
1962 – Two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Wilber Marshall was born in Titusville on this date. Marshall attended the University of Florida where he was named all-American in 1982 and 1983 and was a 3-time first-team SEC selection. In the 1984 NFL draft Marshall was the 11th pick in the first round with the Chicago Bears. Marshall helped lead the Bears to a 46-10 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in 1986 and 37-24 Super Bowl win over the Buffalo Bills in 1992.
1822 – April 17: William Pope Duval became the first territorial Governor of Florida. In 1821, Florida became a U.S. Territory. Duval was named United States Judge for the East Florida district on May 18, 1821. On April 17, 1822, President James Monroe appointed him as the first non-military governor of the territory, succeeding General Andrew Jackson. He was reappointed by President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Jackson. During his twelve-year administration,
1980 – Edmund Skellings was named the Poet Laureate of Florida, a lifetime appointment, by Governor Bob Graham on this date. Originally from Ludlow Massachusetts, Skellings studied English at UM Amherst, than pursued graduate studies at the University of Iowa. Even early in his career, Skellings was a proponent of young people learning to write well and study poetry. He began teaching at Florida Atlantic University in 1967 and began experimenting with early audio amplification, combining this new technology with his poems.
1896 – The first train of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad arrived in Miami on this date! A year earlier Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle, Miami’s founder, had reached a deal which would eventually grant Flagler half of Mrs. Tuttle’s land north of the Miami River. The land was for the development of a new city including hotels, streets, docks and other public facilities, laying the foundation for the city of Miami to incorporate in July of 1896. By 1897 approximately 2,000 people inhabited the new town, half of whom were employed in some capacity by Flagler.
1960 – Arguably Florida’s most influential, and certainly its longest running Commissioner of Agriculture Nathan Mayo died on this date while in office. Mayo, having served in that capacity for 37 years became one of Florida’s most vocal proponents of Florida agricultural products. Born in North Carolina in 1876, Mayo moved to Marion County with his family when he was 10. He established a farm in Summerfield where he lived throughout his life. Mayo was elected to the state legislature in 1921 and was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture in 1923.
1886 – The first 77 Chiricahwa Apache Indian prisoners from the southwestern U.S. arrived at Fort Marion in St. Augustine on this date. Comprised mainly of women and children, over 500 Indians would be held captive in the fort by October of that year. The small groups under the leadership of Geronimo were pursued by intense U.S. military forces in the southwestern U.S. until almost all surrendered. Although many were sent to Fort Marion in St.
1911 – The second annual Citrus Seminar was held in Gainesville on this date. The seminar began as a venue for the state’s citrus growers to meet and discuss techniques, trends, laws and everything else related to one of Florida’s historically important industries. Although citrus production in Florida has dropped in the recent past due to development, disease and freeze since its introduction centuries ago, citrus remains an important part of the Florida history.