1929 – January 9: The official dedication ceremony was held for the new Pan American World Airways terminal in Miami. Pictured at the ceremony: Left to right: Bruce Gould of New York Evening Post; Colonel John A. Hambleton, Vice-president; Ruth Elder, aviatrix; William Mac Cracken; Amelia Earheart, aviatrix; Harry S. New, Postmaster General; and Irving Glover, assistant to the Postmaster General. Also in attendance was Charles Lindbergh, who later that day flew a Sikorsky S-38 on the inaugural flight to San Juan.

1848 – Holmes County, Florida’s 27^th, was created on this date. Situated on Florida’s northern border with Alabama, Holmes County has one of the smallest populations in the state with less than 20,000 residents. The county seat and largest city is Bonifay. The origin of the name is a matter of debate amongst historians. One theory is that the name was borrowed from Holmes Creek, which forms part of the county’s eastern boundary, while some connect the name to a few of the county’s earliest residents.

1891 – Author, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga Alabama on this date. Famous for her novels and articles, Hurston grew up in the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the U.S., Eatonville located in central Florida north of Orlando. Many of her literary works use Eatonville as a backdrop. Hurston was considered part of the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement centered in Harlem New York City and centered on African American expression through the arts and humanities against traditional definitions of race and gender.

1953 – Daniel T. McCarty, Florida’s 31^st governor was inaugurated on this date. McCarty was born to a wealthy family in Fort Pierce on January 18, 1912. He attended the University of Florida and later joined the U.S. Army during WWII, achieving the rank of colonel. Before being elected governor, McCarty was a citrus grower and cattleman, as well as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. As governor, McCarty raised teacher pay, established state scholarships for Florida’s teachers, and helped establish state funded aid programs for the disabled.

1928 – Gene Sarazen won the $750 purse in the 5^th annual Miami Open Golf Tournament held at the Miami Springs Golf Course on this date with a score of 294 for 72 holes.  Sarazen won the tournament 4 times as well as the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open, and many other PGA and non-PGA sanctioned events throughout his career. The Miami Open was played from 1925 until 1955, although it was not an officially sanctioned PGA event until 1945. The tournament was known as the kickoff to the winter golf season.

1863 - William Dunn Moseley, Florida’s first governor under statehood (1845-1849), died on this date.  Moseley was born at Moseley Hall, Lenoir County, North Carolina, on February 1, 1795.  He attended the University of North Carolina with such notables as James K.

1971 – Polk County native Lawton Chiles assumed his seat in the U.S. Senate on this date. Arguably one of the most unconventional campaign runs in Florida history, a relatively unknown Chiles walked 1,003 miles from Pensacola to Key West meeting the sunshine state’s constituents face to face in order to gain notoriety. The journey lasted 91 days and he walked through more than one pair of boots!  What was termed at the time a “public relations stroke of genius,” ultimately catapulted Chiles to an overwhelming victory over his opponent William C. Cramer in the 1970 election.

1979 - Daniel Robert “Bob” Graham was inaugurated as the Sunshine State’s thirty-eighth governor on this date.  He would succeed himself as governor on January 4, 1983.  Graham was born on November 9, 1936 in Coral Gables and he graduated from the University of Florida in 1959. He received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962. Graham entered public office as a Florida State Representative in 1966 and later as a State Senator before being elected Governor.

1885 – The City of Lakeland was incorporated on this date. Situated in Polk County along the Interstate-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando, it is the largest city in the county. The area was first settled in the 1870s when rail lines began reaching south into the interior portion of the peninsula, but it was not until 1882 when a resident of Kentucky by the name of Abraham Munn purchased land in what is now downtown, and plotted out a city that Lakeland got its start. Citrus, cattle and phosphate mining became major industries in the Lakeland area, and in many ways still are.

1892 – Sculptor Augusta Christine Savage (née Fells) was born in Green Gove Springs on this date. Savage was considered a preeminent contributor to the Harlem Renaissance movement of the early 20^th century. Her work was featured in many prominent shows including the 1939 New York World's Fair and a permanent display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Savage was a proponent of equal rights for African Americans throughout her life and also constantly worked to help teach future generations art and sculpture.