1826 – Captain Joseph Fry, infamous captain of the Virginius was born in Tampa on this date. Captain Fry was a member of the second graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy and served with distinction around the world until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Fry joined the Confederate Navy and saw action on the Mississippi River. After the war Fry was looking for work and agreed to captain a side-wheel steamer named the S.S. Virginius. Fry had been contracted by Cuban mercenaries to transport men and supplies to Cuban to fight the Spanish government during the Ten Years War. The Virginius was captured by Spanish forces on October 30^th, 1873 and Fry and his crew of American and British sailors were convicted of piracy and sentenced to death. Captain Fry along with 53 of his crew were executed before British and American diplomats could stop further violence. The Virginius Incident became a precursor to future events between the U.S. and Spain in 1898.