On this date in Maine history: Feb. 1

This Day in Maine History

Published
February 1, 2020

On this date in Maine history: Feb. 1

Feb. 1, 1976: Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, relatively unknown nationally until a few months earlier, collects more delegates in the Maine Democratic Party’s presidential caucuses than all the other candidates combined. His victory contrasts sharply with the results of a Gallup poll about a week earlier, in which only 4 percent of voters nationally […]
Published
January 31, 2020

On this date in Maine history: Jan. 31

Jan. 31, 1945: A fire rips through a privately operated boarding home being used as an unlicensed nursery in Auburn, killing 16 babies and a nurse. Three women and five children escape the flames. The state had cited the operator for code violations, and although the operator had delayed making improvements, state authorities failed to […]
Published
January 30, 2020

On this date in Maine history: Jan. 30

Jan. 30, 1649: The deposed King Charles I, whose forces were defeated in the English Civil War (1642-1651), is executed by beheading in London. Charles’ death essentially ends the dream of the family of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who died two years earlier, of extending its control from the province of Maine to all of New […]
Published
January 29, 2020

On this date in Maine history: Jan. 29

Jan. 29, 1890: U.S. House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed, a Republican from Portland, takes action to end the “disappearing quorum” tactic used by House Democrats to prevent House business from being conducted. He marks members “present” even if they refuse to respond to a roll call. The procedure survives a court challenge and becomes part […]
Published
January 28, 2020

On this date in Maine history: Jan. 28

Jan. 28, 1768: Moses Little and Jonathan Bagley, both of Newbury, Massachusetts, receive a grant for land around the falls on the Androscoggin River from the Pejepscot Proprietors. A condition of the grant is that 50 families live there in 50 houses by June 1, 1774. In the fall of 1770, Paul Hildreth becomes the […]