1993 - Space shuttle Endeavour (STS-54) lifted off on its third flight from Cape Canaveral on this date. Astronauts John H. Casper, Donald R. McMonagle, Mario Runco Jr., Gregory L. Harbaugh and Susan J. Helms spent 6 days in space delivering a tracking and data relay satellite into orbit as well as other tasks. The Endeavour space shuttle would go on to fly another 22 missions before being retired in 2011. The spaceship is now on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.   

1988 – The Florida Lottery officially began selling tickets on this date. Approved by a constitutional amendment vote in the 1986 general election, the Florida Lottery began with a $1 scratch-off millionaire game and in the first few weeks they sold over $95 million worth of tickets. Rebecca Paul served as the first Secretary of the Lottery, appointed by Governor Martinez in 1987. Today, players have a wide variety of games at different price points to choose from.

1800 – Land surveyor Andrew Ellicott working at Point Peter near the mouth of the St. Mary’s River recorded 5 inches of snow on the ground and a temperature of 28 °F on this date. Although rare in Florida, several historic accounts of snowfall in the northern part of the state appear in the records, even as early as 1765 near Jacksonville.

1885 – Plant City residents voted in favor of incorporation on this date. Plant City is situated along the Interstate-4 corridor in eastern Hillsborough County. The city is known as being the strawberry capital of the world, even hosting an annual strawberry festival every winter, and many people believe the name originates from the city’s agricultural roots, but it was actually named after railroad developer and contemporary of Henry Flagler, Henry B. Plant.

1929 – January 9: The official dedication ceremony was held for the new Pan American World Airways terminal in Miami. Pictured at the ceremony: Left to right: Bruce Gould of New York Evening Post; Colonel John A. Hambleton, Vice-president; Ruth Elder, aviatrix; William Mac Cracken; Amelia Earheart, aviatrix; Harry S. New, Postmaster General; and Irving Glover, assistant to the Postmaster General. Also in attendance was Charles Lindbergh, who later that day flew a Sikorsky S-38 on the inaugural flight to San Juan.

1848 – Holmes County, Florida’s 27^th, was created on this date. Situated on Florida’s northern border with Alabama, Holmes County has one of the smallest populations in the state with less than 20,000 residents. The county seat and largest city is Bonifay. The origin of the name is a matter of debate amongst historians. One theory is that the name was borrowed from Holmes Creek, which forms part of the county’s eastern boundary, while some connect the name to a few of the county’s earliest residents.

1891 – Author, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga Alabama on this date. Famous for her novels and articles, Hurston grew up in the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the U.S., Eatonville located in central Florida north of Orlando. Many of her literary works use Eatonville as a backdrop. Hurston was considered part of the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement centered in Harlem New York City and centered on African American expression through the arts and humanities against traditional definitions of race and gender.

1953 – Daniel T. McCarty, Florida’s 31^st governor was inaugurated on this date. McCarty was born to a wealthy family in Fort Pierce on January 18, 1912. He attended the University of Florida and later joined the U.S. Army during WWII, achieving the rank of colonel. Before being elected governor, McCarty was a citrus grower and cattleman, as well as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. As governor, McCarty raised teacher pay, established state scholarships for Florida’s teachers, and helped establish state funded aid programs for the disabled.

1928 – Gene Sarazen won the $750 purse in the 5^th annual Miami Open Golf Tournament held at the Miami Springs Golf Course on this date with a score of 294 for 72 holes.  Sarazen won the tournament 4 times as well as the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open, and many other PGA and non-PGA sanctioned events throughout his career. The Miami Open was played from 1925 until 1955, although it was not an officially sanctioned PGA event until 1945. The tournament was known as the kickoff to the winter golf season.

1863 - William Dunn Moseley, Florida’s first governor under statehood (1845-1849), died on this date.  Moseley was born at Moseley Hall, Lenoir County, North Carolina, on February 1, 1795.  He attended the University of North Carolina with such notables as James K.