1. In 1838, the Cherokee Trail of Tears officially began when a group of Cherokee left their homelands in North Carolina and began the forced removal to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Thousands of Cherokee died on the journey due to disease, hunger, and exposure.

2. On May 22, 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. The state contributed more troops to the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia.

3. In 1885, a train wreck occurred in the town of Salisbury, North Carolina, killing 23 passengers and injuring 50 others. It was one of the deadliest train accidents in U.S. history at the time.

4. May 22, 1934, marked the opening of the first state park in North Carolina, Mount Mitchell State Park. Located in the Appalachian Mountains, the park is named after the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

5. On May 22, 2017, a suicide bombing occurred at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killing 22 people and injuring many more. North Carolina residents were among the victims and the state mourned their loss.