1. West Virginia officially became a state on May 14, 1861. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Virginia seceded from the Union, but delegates from Virginia's northwestern counties, which were loyal to the Union, met in Wheeling and formed their own state. President Abraham Lincoln recognized West Virginia as a state on June 20, 1863.

2. On May 14, 1938, the first National Road Monument was dedicated in Wheeling. The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, was the first federal highway in the United States, stretching from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois. The monument commemorates the road's importance in westward expansion.

3. The largest recorded earthquake in West Virginia's history occurred on May 14, 1940. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt throughout the eastern United States, causing minor damage in some areas. The earthquake's epicenter was near Summersville, West Virginia.

4. On May 14, 1972, the West Virginia University Mountaineers won their first and only Southern Conference baseball championship. The Mountaineers defeated Georgia Southern University 4-1 in the championship game, held in Gastonia, North Carolina.

5. May 14, 2000, marked the 95th anniversary of the Matewan Massacre. The labor dispute, which occurred on May 19, 1920, in the small town of Matewan, West Virginia, resulted in the deaths of seven people, including the town's mayor and two detectives hired by a coal company. The incident became a rallying cry for miners seeking better working conditions and pay.