1. On September 5, 1958, the first stretch of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened to traffic, connecting St. Petersburg and Terra Ceia across Tampa Bay. The bridge was completed in 1987, after being rebuilt following a tragic accident in 1980 when a freighter crashed into the bridge, causing a section to collapse and killing 35 people.

2. In 1983, the Miami Hurricanes football team began their historic 58-game home winning streak at the Orange Bowl on September 5, beating Texas Tech 28-3. The streak ended on September 7, 1991, with a loss to Florida State.

3. On September 5, 1836, the Second Seminole War began in Florida, sparked by tensions between Seminole tribes and the United States government over the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands. The conflict lasted until 1842 and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Seminoles and hundreds of U.S. soldiers.

4. In 1992, during Hurricane Andrew, which devastated parts of South Florida, Homestead Air Force Base was almost entirely destroyed on September 5. The Category 5 storm caused billions of dollars in damage and claimed dozens of lives.

5. September 5, 2017, marked the 500-year anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in what is now the United States. The city, located in northeast Florida, was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and named for Saint Augustine of Hippo.