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, 1971
Day of Week 1st » Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
Day of Week 19th » Mars probe program: 'Mars 2' is launched by the Soviet Union.
Day of Week 26th » Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army Burunga massacre known as slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Day of Week 27th » The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
Day of Week 30th » Mariner program: 'Mariner 9' is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
Day of Week 31st » In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the United States Congress known as U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
5th » Mike Redmond, American baseball player and manager
6th » Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foo Fighters, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Jackson United, No Use for a Name, and Viva Death)