1884 – The first edition of the West Hillsborough Times, the predecessor to the Tampa Bay Times, was printed on this date. Produced by a local doctor, pharmacist and a printer, this early press had a circulation of only 480. The paper changed hands a number of times over the next few decades and its headquarters moved from Dunedin to St. Petersburg. By 1898 the name was officially changed to the St. Petersburg Times. The paper grew during the 20th century and in 2012 it was renamed The Tampa Bay Times which has a daily readership of over 500,000.

1950 – A Bumper 8 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on this date, the first launch from the Cape. The rocket was a combination of a German V-2 rocket used during WWII and a WAC Corporal sounding rocket. The goal was to test high velocity two-stage separation, as well as to attain high altitudes. The launch site was known simply as the Long Range Proving Ground, and in the decades to come hundreds of launches would take place from Cape Canaveral and the area was transformed during a period known as the Space Age.

1836 - Seminole Indians attacked the Cape Florida lighthouse on Key Biscayne on this date. Assistant keeper, John W. B. Thompson, and a slave named Aaron Carter returned fire until evening. The two men were wounded and Carter eventually died from his wounds. The Seminoles set the lighthouse afire, and when a large drum of oil was punctured, the entire building appeared ready to burn. Thompson retreated to the top of the lighthouse to escape the flames. In desperation, he threw a keg of gunpowder to the bottom of the tower.

1839 - Twenty-four U.S. soldiers were killed in a surprise dawn raid by 250 Seminole Indians on the Caloosahatchee River near present-day Fort Myers. The detachment of 28 soldiers were enroute to Charlotte Harbor to establish a trading post. The attacking force of more than 200 Seminoles were led by Holata Micco (Billy Bowlegs) and Chikika, the last of the Caloosa chiefs.

1821 – Escambia and St. Johns Counties, Florida’s first two counties were created on this date. Their boundaries covered all of present-day Florida, although the population of the territory was centered in both Pensacola and St. Augustine. Escambia was named for the Escambia River, yet the exact origins of the word Escambia are not known. It is most likely derived from a Creek or Choctaw word. St. Johns County is named after San Juan Bautista, a Catholic saint. Today, Florida is partitioned into 67 counties.

1922 – Alan Stephenson Boyd, the first U.S. Secretary of Transportation was born in Jacksonville on this date. Not only was Boyd the first to occupy this newly created position, he was the first Floridian to serve in a U.S. President’s cabinet. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1941 and served in the Army Air Force during WWII. After the war he practiced law in Florida and was appointed to the Civil Aeronautics Board by President Eisenhower and became chairman under President Kennedy.

1978 - Jesse J. McCrary, Jr. was sworn in as Florida’s Secretary of State on this date, the first African American to occupy that post since Reconstruction. McCrary was born in Blitchton, Marion County in 1937 and graduated from Florida A&M with his Juris Doctor in 1965. He worked as Florida’s assistant Attorney General and in 1970 became the first black lawyer from a southern state to argue a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. From his time at FAMU to his final years living in Miami, McCrary was an advocate for civil rights in Florida.

1941 – A celebration was held for the grand opening of the Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville. The steel vertical lift bridge, which crosses the St. Johns River, was built at a cost $1.5 million dollars! Hundreds of people attended the festivities, which included a parade and address from Governor Spessard Holland. Although the bridge was officially renamed in 1957 after Mayor John T. Alsop, Jr., it continues to be known as the Main Street Bridge. If you enjoy learning about Florida history every day, please remember to "share" our posts with your friends!

1821 – Florida was officially transferred from Spanish to American control on this date. As part of the Adams – Onís treaty of 1818, both East and West Florida were ceded to the United States. Two flag ceremonies took place, the first of which was in St. Augustine on July 10th, and the second took place in Pensacola on July 17th. The population of the new territory was relatively small, although settlement would increase significantly during the territorial years (1821-1845) as the United States sought to incentivize settlement through the use of land grants.

1969 – Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Ed Aldrin, and Michael Collins were launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral) aboard Apollo 11 on this date. Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of the Apollo program and the target was to land a man on the moon, thus fulfilling a promise made to the world by President Kennedy nearly a decade earlier. The Saturn V SA-506 rocket left Pad A at 9:32 a.m. (EDT), and the lunar module landed on the moon’s surface on July 20th.