1. The Great Fire of Portland occurred on December 21, 1866, destroying much of the downtown area and leaving thousands homeless. The fire resulted in over $15 million in damages and caused many businesses to move to other parts of the state.
2. On December 21, 1914, the first electric railway in Maine opened in Augusta. The line connected the city with the nearby town of Gardiner and helped to improve transportation for local residents.
3. The Onward, a schooner from Maine, was lost at sea on December 21, 1882, while traveling from Boston to Savannah, Georgia. The ship was carrying a cargo of ice and all 16 crew members perished in the storm.
4. December 21, 2008, marked the beginning of a massive ice storm in Maine that left over half a million residents without power for days. The storm caused extensive damage to the state's electrical infrastructure and some communities were without power for up to two weeks.
5. On December 21, 1969, the first live broadcast from space occurred when astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell aboard Apollo 8 read aloud from the book of Genesis while orbiting the moon. Maine played a role in the project as parts of the Apollo spacecraft were built at the Brunswick Naval Air Station.