Commodore Matthew C. Perry is most famous for the event described in today’s entry in The Intellectual Devotional: landing his gunships on Japan and opening communications and commerce with the once-isolated island nation. But years before doing so Perry anchored on a less exotic locale: Key West, Florida.

The Keys get their name from a mispronunciation: the Spanish name “Cayo Hueso” was turned into “Key West” rather than translated into “Bone Island.” Though known as part of Florida today, the were not officially within the boundaries of that state until 1822. Florida had long ago been a Spanish colony, first encountered by Europeans when Ponce de León landed there in 1513. The British had possession of the island since 1763, but it was reclaimed by the Spanish after the colonies defeated the British in the War of Independence. The new United States eventually gained control of Florida from Spain 1819, by, in part, promising not to make any claim on Texas. The United States made its claim on Texas in 1845.

While Florida became part of the United States in 1819, Key West was not incorporated until three years later, in 1822. The gap occurred because Spain originally claimed the Keys as part of Cuba and didn’t cede them to the United States along with Florida in 1819. This claim didn’t last long: by 1822, the islands were part of the United States, and the moment was made official when Commodore Perry landed his ships on their shores on March 25. He named them “Thompson’s Island” in honor of the then-Secretary of the Navy, but then as now they were always known as Key West.

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The World’s Fair (or Columbian Exposition) in Chicago was one of the most magnificent events of the late 19th-century. Over the six months of the fair, visitors numbering nearly half the population of the United States attended, and a number of technological marvels, from the elevator to the Ferris Wheel, made their debut. However, it was also the backdrop to a grisly series of murders, and that’s the story told by Erik Larson in The Devil in the White City.

The major architects of the Columbian Exposition were Frederick Law Olmstead (the designer of Central Park in New York City) and Daniel Burnham. Burnham justly receives most of the credit for planning or designing the 200 buildings spread over 633 acres, known at the time as the “White City.” Another figure in the story, however, is Dr. Henry H. Holmes. Holmes (whose real name was Herman Webster Mudgett; he changed it in honor of Sherlock) ran a “World’s Fair Hotel.” It was a solid business idea: he got the name early, put the hotel near the fair and had its 27 million visitors as potential customers. But, the hotel also included a greased wooden chute that led to a man-sized kiln in the basement. That’s where Holmes disposed of the bodies.

What exactly did Holmes do? How did his murders relate to the Fair? Why is Burnham the other main character? For all of that, you’ll need to read the book. Click here to order a copy.

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