May 19, 1930: “The Silent Enemy,” a silent movie, gets its premiere at the Criterion Theater in New York with Indian Island, Maine, native Mary Nelson Archambaud (1903-1977) in one of the key roles. The film wins critics’ praise but is a box office failure, probably because in an era when the industry is in […]

May 16, 1868: In the last of three U.S. Senate votes on whether to convict President Andrew Johnson after the U.S. House impeached him in connection with his attempt to fire U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, U.S. Sen. William Pitt Fessenden (1806-1869), a Republican from Portland, and six other Republicans break ranks with […]

May 15, 1933: Eight days after a massive fire destroyed about 130 buildings in Ellsworth, another fire starts in the early afternoon in Pontbriand’s Garage on Mill Street in Auburn’s New Auburn district. The southwesterly wind drives the fire in three directions. “A triangular space containing nearly 20 buildings was a roaring furnace almost before […]

May 13, 1803: U.S. Navy Capt. Edward Preble (1761-1807), a Portland native, recommissions the USS Constitution – “Old Ironsides” – as his flagship during the First Barbary War. Given a promotion to commodore, Preble sets sail Aug. 14 on the Constitution, heading for the Mediterranean Sea. The painting “Bombardment of Tripoli,” by Michele Felice Corné, […]

May 12, 1999: Linda Greenlaw’s book “The Hungry Ocean,” the first of many books by the swordfishing boat captain, is published. It remains on The New York Times bestseller list for three months. The book recounts the day-to-day perils and personality clashes that emerge during a monthlong swordfishing voyage. It describes racial prejudice, drug use, […]