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).
Day of Week 4th » The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay is fought in Japan.
Day of Week 10th » The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point, Utah) with the golden spike.
Day of Week 17th » Imperial Empire of Japan known as Japanese forces defeat the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Battle of Hakodate to end the Boshin War.
Day of Week 26th » Boston University is chartered by the Massachusetts known as Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1869
5th » Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter (d. 1937)
5th » Hans Pfitzner, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
11th » Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)