May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. May is a month of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.
May symbols: The birthstone of May is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success. The May birth flower is the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna. The mayflower Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, and to Northwest Territories in the north. The zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus (until May 20) and Gemini (May 21 onwards).
Historical Events for May, 1796
Day of Week 10th » First Coalition: Napoleon I of France wins a Battle of Lodi decisive victory against Habsburg Empire Austrian forces at Lodi, Lombardy Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
Day of Week 14th » Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination.
Day of Week 15th » First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1796
4th » Horace Mann, American educator and politician (d. 1859)
4th » William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (d. 1859)