On this day in the Sunshine State ...


1822 Eberhard Faber, the pencil manufacturer whose purchase and clear cutting of hundred of thousands of acres of cedar both fueled the economy of  Cedar Key and ultimately led to its economic demise, was born in Germany.


1861 Governor John Milton today signed the bill changing the name of New River County to Bradford County in honor of Captain Richard Bradford, who was killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island on October 9, 1861.


1947 Today, President Harry  S. Truman dedicated the Everglades National Park in ceremonies held in the town of Everglades.


1957 Today the test satellite Vanguard exploded two seconds after it was launched at Cape Canaveral. 


1965 In an unusual experiment, astronaut James Lovell, aboard Gemini 7, became the first person to fly in space without protective gear, wearing only his underwear!