May 11, 12, and 13 are the feast days of Saints Mamertus, Pancras, and Gervais. These three are known as the Three Chilly Saints not because they were cold during their lifetimes, but because these days are traditionally the coldest of the month. English and French folklore (and later American) held that these days would bring a late frost. In Germany, they were called the Icemanner, or Icemen Days, and people believed it was never safe to plant until the Icemen were gone. Another bit of folklore claimed, “Who shears his sheep before St. Gervatius’s Day loves more his wool than his sheep.”
Every Year
860s
1810s
- BORN 1811: CHANG AND ENG BUNKER (ORIGINAL “SIAMESE” TWINS)
- 1812: A NEW DANCE CALLED THE WALTZ ARRIVED IN ENGLISH BALLROOMS
- 1812: PRIME MINISTER SPENCER PERCEVAL ASSASSINATED BY JOHN BELLINGHAM IN THE LOBBY OF THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS
- 1819: PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE RODE ON THE SAVANNAH TO INSPECT THE HARBOR DEFENSES OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, MAKING HIM THE FIRST U.S. PRESIDENT TO RIDE ON A STEAMBOAT
1850s
1870s
1880s
1890s
- BORN 1892: MARGARET RUTHERFORD (ACTRESS)
- 1894: PULLMAN STRIKE ENDED IN DEFEAT FOR ORGANIZED LABOR
- BORN 1894: MARTHA GRAHAM (DANCER)
1900s
1910s
- 1910: GLACIER NATIONAL PARK IN MONTANA ESTABLISHED
- BORN 1918: SHEILA BURNFORD (AUTHOR OF THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY)
- BORN 1918: RICHARD FEYNMAN (PHYSICIST)
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
- BORN 1963: NATASHA RICHARDSON (ACTRESS)
- 1968: LINDA MCCARTNEY BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER TO SHOOT A ROLLING STONE COVER
1970s
1980s
- DIED 1981: BOB MARLEY (REGGAE MUSICIAN, FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE WAILERS)
- BORN 1982: JONATHAN JACKSON (ACTOR)
- BORN 1982: CORY MONTEITH (ACTOR)
- BORN 1983: MATT LEINART (FOOTBALL PLAYER)
- 1987: THE FIRST HEART-LUNG TRANSPLANT TOOK PLACE IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
1990s
2000s
2010s
COURTESY www.almanac.com
