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, 1866
Day of Week 1st » The Memphis Riots of 1866 named Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Day of Week 2nd » Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
Day of Week 5th » Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
Day of Week 10th » Romania National Holiday 1866-1947, The Modern Monarchy Instauration of the Kingdom of Romania, Carol I of Romania
Day of Week 16th » The United States Congress e.g U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel (U.S. coin) named nickel.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1866
5th » Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (d. 1938)
9th » Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian politician (d. 1915)
10th » Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer (d. 1924)
17th » Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (d. 1925)
Famous Deaths for May 1866
13th » Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
29th » Winfield Scott, American general and politician (b. 1786)