[FHStoday] TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY FOR DECEMBER 6

[Nick Wynne]

TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
DECEMBER 6
1822            Eberhard Faber, the pencil manufacturer whose purchase and 
clear cutting of hundred of thousands of acres of cedar both fueled the 
economy of  Cedar Key and ultimately led to its economic demise, was born 
in Germany.

1861            Governor John Milton today signed the bill changing the 
name of New River County to Bradford County in honor of Captain Richard 
Bradford, who was killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island on October 9, 1861.

1862            Governor John Milton signed a bill today suspending the 
collection of taxes in counties under Union control.

1864            The U.S.S. Sunflower today captured the Confederate sloop, 
Pickwick, along the Gulf Coast near St. George's Sound.
                 Governor John Milton called for the restoration of 
3-days-a-week mail service between Gainesville and Tampa.  The service had 
been reduced to a once-a-week run.

1947            Today, President Harry  S. Truman dedicated the Everglades 
National Park in ceremonies held in the town of Everglades.

1957            Today the test satellite Vanguard exploded two seconds 
after it was launched at Cape Canveral.

1965            In an unusual experiment, astronaut James Lovell, aboard 
Gemini 7, became the first person to fly in space without protective gear, 
wearing only his 
underwear!