10 years ago

From the Journal Tribune: “Traffic was backed up along Route 111 on Friday afternoon due to a dump truck mishap that brought down power lines. Power, cable and telephone lines were cut just after 1 p.m. when a dump truck servicing the Biddeford Crossing construction site broke part of a utility pole …”

50 years ago

From the Biddeford-Saco Journal: “A Biddeford police cruiser was involved in a two-car crash on York Street, Biddeford, yesterday afternoon, police said. … No injuries were listed and no estimates were available.”

100 years ago

From the Biddeford Daily Journal: “The new Dunstan fire company, of which Col. Fred N. Dow is the chief, turned out for its first fire Friday night, and incidentally saved the town hall of Oak hill, Scarboro.” — Angelo J. Verzoni

Today in History

Today is Friday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2015. There are 27 days left in the year.

On this date: In 1214, Alexander II became King of Scots at age 16 upon the death of his father, William the Lion. In 1619, a group of settlers from Bristol, England, arrived at Berkeley Hundred in present-day Charles City County, Virginia, where they held a service thanking God for their safe arrival. In 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York. In 1816, James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson left Washington on a trip to France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference. In 1945, the Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations by a vote of 65-7. In 1954, the first Burger King stand was opened in Miami by James McLamore and David Edgerton. In 1977, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowned himself emperor in a lavish ceremony. (Bokassa was deposed in 1979; he died in 1996 at age 75.)

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 4, 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission. (While Gemini 7 was in orbit, its sister ship, Gemini 6A, was launched on Dec. 15 on a one-day mission; the two spacecraft were able to rendezvous within a foot of each other.)

Ten years ago Members of the former Sept. 11 commission, appearing on the Sunday talk shows, said the U.S. was at great risk for more terrorist attacks because Congress and the White House had failed to enact several strong security measures. Show business legends Robert Redford, Tina Turner, Tony Bennett, Julie Harris and ballerina Suzanne Farrell headlined the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. Croatia won its first Davis Cup title.

Five years ago President Barack Obama praised a newly sealed trade deal with South Korea as a landmark agreement that promised to boost the domestic auto industry and support tens of thousands of American jobs.

One year ago The Obama administration acknowledged that many people covered under the Affordable Care Act would face higher premiums the next year. Police waged hourslong gun battles with Islamic militants who attacked Chechnya’s capital of Grozny, leaving at least 20 people dead. Jeremy Thorpe, an influential British politician who’d helped revive the Liberal Party before his career was cut short by scandal, died in London at age 85. — By The Associated Press