•On May 24, 1883, after 14 years and 27 deaths during construction, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York is opened, the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date.•On May 27, 1894, Dashiell Hammett, author of “The Maltese Falcon,” is born in Maryland. He worked as a Pinkerton detective for eight years and turned his experiences into fiction. The novel was filmed three times, the last in 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart.•On May 28, 1902, Owen Wister’s “The Virginian” is published. It was the first serious Western and one of the most influential in the genre. The book became a sensation ...