1909 – The keel of the USS Florida was laid during a ceremony

1909 – The keel of the USS Florida(BB-30) was laid during a ceremony at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on this date. The Florida was a Florida class dreadnought battleship which was commissioned in May of 1910. It had a displacement of 21,825 tons, was 521 ft. long and traveled at a maximum speed of 21 knots per hour. She was one of the first ships during the American occupation of Veracruz Mexico, and also served with the 6^th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, which patrolled the North Sea during WWI. The ship remained in service until 1930 when, in accordance with the London Navy Treaty of 1930, she was decommissioned and scrapped in 1932.