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, 1840
Day of Week 1st » The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
Day of Week 6th » The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Day of Week 7th » The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
Day of Week 22nd » The penal transportation known as transportation of United Kingdom known as British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1840
7th » Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
10th » Hadzhi Dimitar, Bulgarian warlord (d. 1868)
12th » Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean colonel (d. 1912)