Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1928
Ernest Hemingway pens A Farewell to Arms in Key West, supposedly while awaiting
the delivery of a car. His wife's uncle gives the Hemingways a local house in 1931.
1920s-30s
A small spit of land located across Biscayne Bay, known as Miami Beach, becomes
dotted with hotels and resorts, presaging its emergence as a tourism hot spot.
1933-40
New Deal public-works projects employ 40,000 Floridians and help save Florida from
the Depression. The most notable construction project is the Overseas Highway
through the Keys.
1941-45
US enters WWII. Two million men and women receive basic training in South Florida.
At one point, the army commandeers 85% of Miami Beach hotels to house person-
nel.
1942
From January to August, German U-boats sink more than two dozen tankers and
ships off Florida's coast. By war's end, Florida holds nearly 3000 German POWs in
15 labor camps.
1947
Everglades National Park is established, successfully culminating a 19-year effort,
led by Ernest Coe and Marjory Stoneman Douglas, to protect the Everglades from
the harm done by dredging and draining.
1961
Brigade 2506, a 1300-strong volunteer army, invades Cuba's Bay of Pigs on April 16.
President Kennedy withholds air support, leading to Brigade 2506's immediate de-
feat and capture by Fidel Castro.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search