On this day in 1899 in St. Augustine, D.E. Thompson announced his purchase of The Daily Herald from Charles F. Hopkins and said it would be renamed on Sept. 1, 1899.

In 1904 dredging started today on the deepwater channel for the Port of Miami. Hundreds of workers were employed around the clock to complete this project.

In 1939 Today is the birthdate of the Florida Highway Patrol.

In 1942 Florida Caverns State Park at Marianna opened to the public today.

In 1962 Governor Farris Bryant called the Florida Legislature into special session to devise a new reapportionment plan for the state. This was in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case, Baker versus Carr, in 1962. The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could consider challenges to state apportionment plans.

In 1981 Maria Marinello Korvick became the first Hispanic woman to serve as a circuit court judge in Florida when she assumed this office in Miami. Korvick had entered the United States as a Cuban refugee in 1961.