•On May 18, 1783, the first United Empire Loyalists, known to American Patriots as Tories, arrive in what is now New Brunswick, Canada, to take refuge under the British crown. Loyalist refugees in western Quebec were given 200 acres apiece.•On May 22, 1859, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, is born. His first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” was published in 1887. Doyle soon grew weary of his creation, killing off Holmes only to resuscitate him later due to popular demand.•On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, which opens government-owned land to ...