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, 2012
Day of Week 2nd » A pastel version of 'The Scream', by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
Day of Week 9th » A Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash called crashes into Mount Salak in West Java, Indonesia, killing 45 people.
Day of Week 10th » The 10 May 2012 Damascus bombings or Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people and injuring 400 others
Day of Week 14th » Agni Air Flight CHT crashes near Jomsom Airport in Jomsom, Nepal, after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.
Day of Week 20th » At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes known as 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
Day of Week 21st » A Qafa e Vishës bus accident called bus accident near Himara, Albania kills 13 people and injures 21 others.
Day of Week 22nd » Tokyo Skytree is opened to public. It is the List of tallest towers in the world or tallest tower in world (634 m), and the second tallest man-made structure on Earth, after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).
Day of Week 23rd » Adam Lambert became the first openly gay artist to debut at 1 on the Billboard 200 known as 'Billboard' 200 Album Charts, with his album 'Trespassing (album) known as Trespassing'.
Day of Week 25th » The Dragon spacecraft became the COTS Demo Flight 2 or first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with the International Space Station.
Day of Week 28th » The discovery of Flame (malware) named Flame, a complex malware program targeting computers in Middle Eastern countries, is announced.
Day of Week 29th » A 5.8-magnitude 2012 Emilia earthquakes 29 May earthquake e.g earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
Day of Week 30th » Former Liberian president, Charles Taylor (Liberian politician) e.g Charles Taylor, is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
17th » Herbert Breslin, American publicist and manager (b. 1924)
17th » Gideon Ezra, Israeli politician (b. 1937)
17th » Patrick Mafisango, Congolese-Rwandan footballer (b. 1980)
17th » Ron Shock, American comedian (b. 1942)
17th » Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
18th » Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
18th » Jai Gurudev, Indian religious leader (b. 1895)
18th » Peter Jones (drummer) called Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer (Crowded House and Deadstar) (b. 1967)
18th » Alan Oakley (designer) known as Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer (b. 1927)
19th » Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
19th » Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
19th » Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
19th » Gerhard Hetz, German swimmer (b. 1942)
19th » Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
20th » Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, Libyan terrorist, conducted the Pan Am Flight 103 named Pan Am Flight 103 bombing (b. 1952)
20th » Bob Bethell, American politician (b. 1942)
20th » Geoffrey Evans, Irish serial killer (b. 1943)
20th » Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (Bee Gees, The Rattlesnakes (1955 band) called The Rattlesnakes, and One World Project) (b. 1949)
20th » Eugene Polley, American engineer, invented the remote control (b. 1915)
20th » Andrew B. Steinberg, American lawyer (b. 1958)
21st » Eddie Blazonczyk, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
21st » Otis Clark, American butler and preacher, survivor of the Tulsa race riot (b. 1903)
21st » Roman Dumbadze, Georgian commander (b. 1964)
21st » Constantine of Irinoupolis, American metropolitan (b. 1936)
21st » Douglas Rodríguez (boxer) called Douglas Rodríguez, Cuban boxer (b. 1950)
21st » Bill Stewart (American football) known as Bill Stewart, American football player and coach (b. 1952)
21st » Alan Thorne, Australian anthropologist and academic (b. 1939)