John Wayne Mixson was an American politician and farmer in Florida who served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987, and as the 39th governor of Florida for three days in January 1987. Mixson served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1967 to 1978 prior to being elected as lieutenant governor. He was a lifelong conservative Democrat, and though he served in the Florida legislature and as Florida's lieutenant governor as a member of that party, he supported a mix of Democratic and Republican candidates for various state and national offices after retiring from elected office.
Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won 82 LPGA Tour career events including 13 major championships. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) is an international airport in Freeport, Bahamas. It was privately owned until the government of the Bahamas purchased it in April 2021.
WTVX is a television station licensed to Fort Pierce, Florida, United States, serving the West Palm Beach area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CBS affiliate WPEC and two low-power, Class A stations: MyNetworkTV affiliate WTCN-CD and TBD owned-and-operated station WWHB-CD. The stations share studios on Fairfield Drive in Mangonia Park, while WTVX's transmitter is located southwest of Palm City, Florida.
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the ten most intense Atlantic hurricanes in terms of barometric pressure, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and the second-most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. Its origins came from a tropical depression that formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, headed westward, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which abruptly turned southward and was named Wilma. Wilma continued to strengthen, and eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of 185 mph (298 km/h).
Hurricane Erin was the first hurricane to strike the contiguous United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The fifth tropical cyclone, fifth named storm, and second hurricane of the unusually active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Erin developed from a tropical wave near the southeastern Bahamas on July 31. Moving northwestward, the cyclone intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale near Rum Cay about 24 hours later. After a brief jog to the north-northwest on August 1, Erin began moving to the west-northwest. The cyclone then moved over the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama. Early on August 2, Erin made landfall near Vero Beach, Florida, with winds of 85 mph (137 km/h). The hurricane weakened while crossing the Florida peninsula and fell to tropical storm intensity before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico later that day.
The Royal Poinciana Hotel was a Gilded Age hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Developed by Standard Oil founder Henry Flagler and approximately 1,000 workers, the hotel opened on February 11, 1894. As Flagler's first structure in South Florida, the Royal Poinciana Hotel played a significant role in the region's history, transforming the previously desolate area into a winter tourist destination and accelerating the development of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Two months later, Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway reached West Palm Beach, while a railroad bridge built across the Lake Worth Lagoon in 1895 allowed guests direct access to the hotel. In 1896, Flagler opened a second hotel nearby, The Breakers. The success of both hotels led to expansions of the Royal Poinciana Hotel in 1899 and 1901. By then, the building had reportedly become both the largest hotel and largest wooden structure in the world at the time.
George William Wilson, Sr. was a professional football end and later a coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Detroit Lions and the American Football League (AFL)'s Miami Dolphins. Wilson attended and played football at Northwestern University. He went undrafted in 1937, before being signed by the Chicago Bears. Wilson played for ten seasons with the Bears, compiling overall record of 111 pass receptions, 1,342 receiving yards, and fifteen touchdowns. He was a member of the Bears during their five appearances in the National Football League Championship Game from 1940–1943 and 1946. Additionally, he was selected for the NFL All-Star Game from 1940–1942. He also played one season of professional basketball for the Chicago Bruins in 1939–40. Wilson won seven championships combined as a player and coach.
The 1929 Bahamas hurricane was a high-end Category 4 tropical cyclone whose intensity and slow forward speed led to catastrophic damage in the Bahamas in September 1929, particularly on Andros and New Providence islands. Its erratic path and a lack of nearby weather observations made the hurricane difficult to locate and forecast. The storm later made two landfalls in Florida, killing eleven but causing comparatively light damage. Moisture from the storm led to extensive flooding over the Southeastern United States, particularly along the Savannah River. Across its path from the Bahamas to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, the hurricane killed 155 people.
The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.
Peter Joseph Butler was an English professional golfer. He was one of the leading British golfers of the 1960s and early 1970s. He won a number of important tournaments including the 1963 PGA Close Championship and the 1968 French Open. He played in four Ryder Cup matches between 1965 and 1973 and three times in the World Cup. He played in the Open Championship 23 times, with two top-10 finishes, and seven successive times in the Masters from 1964 to 1970.
The Bahamas National Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in 1970 and 1971. It replaced the West End Classic, which had been a satellite Latin-American Tour stop, as the PGA's tournament in the Bahamas.
The Nassau Bahamas Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was held in March 1928. It was played at the Bahamas Country Club in Nassau in The Bahamas.
The West Palm Beach Open Invitational, first played as The West Palm Beach Open, was a PGA Tour event in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was held at the West Palm Beach Country Club, now known as the West Palm Beach Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 championship course established in 1921 and in its present location in the southwestern corner of West Palm Beach, Florida since 1947.
The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 1958 and 1974. Following the demise of the Caribbean Tour the tournament was not played for several years, until there was a brief revival between 1979 and 1982.
Hurricane Fox was the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclone of the below average 1952 Atlantic hurricane season. The seventh tropical storm, sixth Atlantic hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the season, Fox was a small and intense Caribbean storm that developed northwest of Cartagena, Colombia, in the southern Caribbean. It moved steadily northwest, intensifying to a tropical storm on October 21. The next day, it rapidly strengthened into a hurricane and turned north passing closely to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. The cyclone attained peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h) as it struck Cayo Guano del Este off the coast of Cienfuegos. Fox made landfall on Cuba at maximum intensity, producing peak gusts of 170–180 mph (270–290 km/h). It weakened over land, but it re-strengthened as it turned east over the Bahamas. On October 26, it weakened and took an erratic path, dissipating west-southwest of Bermuda on October 28.
The 1933 Treasure Coast hurricane was the second-most intense tropical cyclone to strike the United States during the active 1933 Atlantic hurricane season. The eleventh tropical storm, fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the season, it formed east-northeast of the Leeward Islands on August 31. The tropical storm moved rapidly west-northwestward, steadily intensifying to a hurricane. It acquired peak winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and passed over portions of the Bahamas on September 3, including Eleuthera and Harbour Island, causing severe damage to crops, buildings, and infrastructure. Winds over 100 mph (160 km/h) affected many islands in its path, especially those that encountered its center, and many wharves were ruined.
The West End Classic was PGA Tour satellite event that was played at the Grand Bahama Hotel and Country Club in West End on Grand Bahama Island from 1967 to 1969. In 1970 it was replaced by a new PGA Tour event, the Bahamas National Open, which was contested in 1970 and 1971.
The Gasparilla Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1932 to 1935. It was played at the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The tournament was played at match play in 1932 and at stroke play thereafter. Up until 1935, The Gasparilla Open was the top money PGA tournament in the United States with an average purse of $4,000. The tournament was discontinued after 1935. The tournament resumed as an amateur event in 1956, The Gasparilla Invitational.
The Nassau Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1934 to 1937. It was inaugurated as the British Colonial Open, and was played at the Bahamas Golf Club in Nassau, in The Bahamas. Having been rescheduled, the fifth edition of the tournament was then cancelled shortly before it was due to be staged in January 1939.
Bernard Hunt 
