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, 1883
Day of Week 20th » Krakatoa 1883 eruption of Krakatoa e.g begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
Day of Week 24th » The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
Day of Week 27th » Alexander III of Russia e.g Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
Day of Week 30th » In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede that crushes twelve people.
Famous Birthdays on May in 1883
5th » Agustín Barrios, Paraguayan guitarist and composer (d. 1944)
5th » Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
9th » José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (d. 1955)
13th » Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
18th » Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
18th » Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)