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, 1861
Day of Week 6th » American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union (American Civil War) or Union.
6th » American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America.
Day of Week 8th » American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
Day of Week 13th » American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of Neutrality (international relations) or neutrality" which recognizes the Confederate States of America e.g breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
13th » The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
Day of Week 20th » American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutral country e.g neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate States of America named Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the
Day of Week 24th » American Civil War: Union (American Civil War) known as Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
Day of Week 29th » The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1861
6th » Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1931)
7th » Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize in Literature or Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
11th » Frederick Russell Burnham, American soldier and adventurer (d. 1947)
16th » H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (d. 1896)