On this day in 1816 two hundred and seventy Negroes and Indians were killed by a direct hit on a powder magazine by U.S. troops invading Florida. The so-called “Negro Fort,” now called Fort Gadsden, was located on the Apalachicola River.

In 1926 Martin County was hit by an 80-mile-an-hour hurricane, and more than $300,000 in damage was reported. The town of Jensen suffered more than $15,000 in damages.

In 1927 construction started on the construction of Ringling Museum of Art, designed by architect John H. Phillip, adjacent to the Ringling mansion, Ca’ d’ Zan. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art was completed and opened its doors to the public on January 22, 1930. The Museum is currently owned and operated by the State of Florida also on the grounds of the former Ringling Estate are the Circus Museum and the Asolo Theater.

In 1931 The State of Florida Veterans of Foreign Wars organization was chartered.

In 1943 U.S. Army Air Corps Colonel Joseph Duckworth became the first person to fly through the eye of a hurricane.