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, 1879
Day of Week 14th » The first group of 463 Indian indenture system Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the ship Leonidas ship 6.
Day of Week 21st » War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
Day of Week 26th » Russian Empire known as Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
Day of Week 31st » Gilmores Garden in New York City called New York, New York, is renamed Madison Square Garden (1879) called Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1879
2nd » James F. Byrnes, American politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
3rd » Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman and soldier, co-founded Qantas (d. 1950)
6th » Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
6th » Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)