1. Maine was officially recognized as a state on December 16, 1820. Prior to this, Maine was part of Massachusetts until it gained statehood as part of the Missouri Compromise.

2. On December 16, 1773, Maine's involvement in the American Revolution began when patriots from Falmouth (now Portland) boarded a British ship and dumped its cargo of tea into the harbor in protest of the British Tea Act.

3. In 1998, the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant in Wiscasset ceased operations on December 16th, marking the end of its 31 years of operation. The plant was decommissioned and is now being monitored for radioactivity.

4. A major snowstorm hit Maine on December 16, 2013, dumping over two feet of snow in some areas and causing power outages and travel disruptions.

5. On December 16, 1944, a soldier from Maine named William Lowell Wold was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on the battlefield.