In the Sunshine State on this day in:

1785 Governor Patrick Tonyn and the British occupants of East Florida evacuated St. Augustine and full control was returned to the Spanish.

1821 Today Andrew Jackson submitted his resignation as governor of Florida to President James Monroe.  Monroe officially accepted the resignation on December 31.

1876 The twenty-third governor of Florida (January 4, 1921-January 6, 1925), Cary Augustus Hardee, was born today in Taylor County.  Educated in the public schools, Hardee was a school teacher until 1900, when he was admitted to the state bar and began his legal practice in Live Oak.  From 1905 until 1913, he served as the State’s Attorney.  In 1915 and 1917, Hardee served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.

Hardee’s administration oversaw reapportionment of the Florida Legislature, the amendment of the state constitution to prohibit income taxes and inheritance taxes, and the abolition of “convict leasing” to private corporations and individuals.

After his term as governor, Hardee became a banker in Live Oak.  In 1932, he sought the Democratic nomination for governor, but was defeated.

Cary Augustus Hardee died in Live Oak on November 21, 1957.

1915 Florida’s first F.W. Woolworth store opened today in Tampa.

1934 Today was the first day of dawn-to-dusk air passenger service between Miami and New York inaugurated by Eastern Air Lines.  The introduction of DC-2 aircraft eliminated the need for an overnight stay in Jacksonville.