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, 1896
Day of Week 18th » The United States Supreme Court rules in 'Plessy v. Ferguson' that the "separate but equal" doctrine is constitutional.
18th » Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Nicholas II of Russia known as Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
Day of Week 20th » The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd below resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
Day of Week 26th » Nicholas II of Russia e.g Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Russian Empire e.g Imperial Russia.
26th » Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Day of Week 27th » The Fujita scale or F4-strength St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East Saint Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing $2.9 billion in damage (1997 United States dollar e.g USD).
Famous Birthdays on May in 1896
1st » Herbert Backe, Georgian-German politician (d. 1947)
1st » Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
1st » J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)