On This Date in History

It’s been nearly 35 years since the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse. On Florida Matters (Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 7:30 a.m.), we take a look back at the disaster. What do you remember about that day? We're asking our listeners to share their memories with us in the comments below.

It was October 9th, 1996, when Vice Presidential candidates Al Gore and Jack Kemp met for a debate in St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater. The debate was…

It was September 26, 1960, when 1,997 freshmen showed up for the very first classes at the University of South Florida.Among them was Barbara Campbell --…

May 8th, 1955 was quite a day for rock and roll fans in the Bay Area. The Hank Snow All-Star Jamboree was in town for an afternoon extravaganza that…

Baseball history was made in Tampa on April 4, 1919, when Babe Ruth hit what many consider to be his longest home run ever.Ruth was still with the Boston…

While Florida is the place where many folks come to escape the winter up north, winter occasionally finds its way to Florida. That was the case on March…

It was 40 years ago today when NASA launched Pioneer 10 from Cape Canaveral. The robotic space probe was launched on March 2, 1972 on a mission to study…

John Williams arrived from Detroit in 1875. Peter Demens arrived from St. Petersburg, Russia, 13 years later. Williams built a grand hotel. Demens brought…

It was February 27th, 1998, when the brand-new Tampa Bay Devil Rays played their first spring training game.It took place in St. Pete's Al Lang Stadium…