Florida Frontiers

1549 – Luis Cancer de Barbastro, a Dominican missionary was killed by Tocobaga Indians near Tampa Bay on this date. He first came to the New World from Spain in 1518, working with the native groups on the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. He later traveled to Guatemala in Central America and continued practicing a non-violent type of evangelical work. After receiving a royal decree from King Charles V, Luis Cancer sailed from Havana to southwest Florida in early June.

1845 – William Dunn Moseley was sworn in as the first Governor of the State of Florida on this date. Born in Lenoir County North Carolina in 1795, Moseley graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1818 and received a Master’s degree in 1821. He served in the North Carolina Senate from 1829-1832 before moving to Jefferson County Florida in 1835. Moseley served in the both the territorial House and Senate before winning the hotly contested 1845 gubernatorial race against former territorial governor and popular Florida politician Richard Keith Call.

1823 – Gadsden County, Florida’s fifth county was established on this date. Located on Florida’s northern border with Georgia, it was named for James Gadsden, who had served with General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812 and the First Seminole War. Gadsden became a planter in Florida and served in the Territorial Legislature.  In early 1824 the first capital of the new territory of Florida was established in Gadsden County before it was partitioned into a new county known as Leon.

1938 – Marineland, then known as “Marine Studios,” opened its doors on this date. Located near St. Augustine in northeast Florida, Marine Studios was billed as “the world’s first oceanarium.” The main attraction on opening day was a bottlenose dolphin, but soon other sea creatures were added to the lineup including a pilot whale, sea turtles, and more trained bottlenose dolphins. At its height in the mid-1970s, Marineland attracted over 900,000 visitors annually, and is still open today as “Marineland Dolphin resort which allows visitors to swim and interact with dolphins. 

1961 – The City of Fort Lauderdale Lakes was incorporated on this date. Located in central Broward County, Lauderdale Lakes was originally a popular area for retirees, particularly from the northeastern part of the U.S. As the population of Broward County swelled in the latter half of the 20^th century, many African American and Caribbean families moved into the area. The city takes up only 3.6 acres but is home to over 32,000 residents in one of the most densely populated metropolitan regions of Florida.   

1817 – Scottish soldier and adventurer Gregor MacGregor crossed the Georgia border into Spanish Florida with a force of 150 men in an attempt to capture the colony on this date. MacGregor claimed to be supporting the revolutionary commander Simon Bolivar in his attempts to rid the Americas of Spanish colonial rule. The small army comprised of Americans and other mercenaries attacked Fort San Carlos on Amelia Island on June 29th, and soon occupied the town. They began setting up a new government, even printing their own currency.

2006 – Governor Jeb Bush signed the Babcock Preservation Act while in Punta Gorda on this date. The arrangement set aside a 74,000 acre tract of land in Charlotte and Lee Counties strictly for preservation purposes, as well as a 17,000 acre site for the development of the city of Babcock Ranch. It is considered one of the largest land preservation purchases in Florida history. Nearly eighty percent of the Babcock Ranch’s original 91,000 acres will remain undeveloped.

1983 – Sally Ride became the first American women in space aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle on this date. The flight (STS-7) lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:33 UTC and flew over 2.5 million miles lasting 6 days. During this historic flight, the crew launched three satellites and conducted dozens of other scientific and medical experiments. Dr. Ride would fly on one more Space Shuttle Mission (STS-41-G) before retiring from NASA and teaching physics at UC San Diego, and also worked for the Stanford University Center for the International Security and Arms Control. In 2001 Dr.

1871 – James Weldon Johnson, African American author, composer, lawyer, teacher and civil rights activist was born in Jacksonville on this date. In his early years in Jacksonville, Johnson was educated first by his mother, but later graduated from the Edwin M. Stanton School where he excelled. He would later teach at Stanton, and became principal of the school in 1906 after graduating from Clark Atlanta University. James and his brother J. Rosamond lived in New York City for a time and were part of the African American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.

1994 – Charles T. Wells was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court on this date. Wells received both his bachelor’s degree and his juris doctor degree from the University of Florida. Wells practiced law in Orlando for 28 years before being appointed to the State Supreme Court by Governor Lawton Chiles. Wells served as Chief Justice from July 1, 2000 – July 1, 2002. During this period, he presided over the State Supreme Court cases known collectively as Bush v. Gore, which stemmed from controversy over the 2000 presidential election in Florida and subsequent recounts in certain counties.