May 21 Day 142 of 366 · ISO week 21 · Gemini · Spring (Northern Hemisphere)
May 21 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 224 days remain until the year's end. It falls in spring (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Gemini.
May 21
142nd day of the year
May 2024 calendar — highlighted: the 21st
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Day of year 142 / 366 Days remaining 224 ISO week 21 Weekday in 2024 Tuesday Zodiac (Western) Gemini Zodiac (sidereal) Gemini Season (N. hemi.) Spring Sun declination +20.3° Birthstone Emerald Birth flower Lily of the Valley, Hawthorn
External references Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
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Astronomy
Solar declination through the year — the Sun's apparent latitude on Earth. May 21 ≈ +20.3°
0°
+23°
−23°
+20.3°
Computed via Cooper's formula. Positive declination = Sun north of the celestial equator (Northern Hemisphere summer).
On May 21 the Sun's declination is approximately +20.3°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory , or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a May 21.
Position in the year
Position in the calendar year — day 142 of 366 (with 224 remaining)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
May 21
Holidays & observances No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1881 — The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton. ↗ (145 years ago) 1927 — Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field near Paris, completing the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight. ↗ (99 years ago) 1932 — Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (Newfoundland to Northern Ireland). ↗ (94 years ago) 1972 — Michelangelo's Pietà was attacked with a hammer by an Australian-Hungarian man at St Peter's Basilica. ↗ (54 years ago) Notable births
1471 — Albrecht Dürer, German Renaissance artist. ↗ (555 years ago) 1844 — Henri Rousseau, French Post-Impressionist painter. ↗ (182 years ago) 1917 — Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor. ↗ (109 years ago) Notable deaths
1991 — Rajiv Gandhi, former Indian Prime Minister, assassinated. ↗ (35 years ago) Numerical & calendrical curiosities Day-of-year (142) 2 × 71 · composite (no) Days remaining (224) 2^5 × 7 Date code DDMMYYYY 21052026 · no palindrome in next 200 years Sun declination +20.33° (Cooper approximation) Distance from solstice 30 days
Cross-references The 21st of every other month Adjacent days Days nearby Themes: lindbergh-lands red-cross-founded earhart-solo
WikiDay — On this day. About this day. An editorial almanac of every calendar day of the year, drawing on public sources including Wikipedia , Encyclopædia Britannica , the U.S. Library of Congress: Today in History , the U.S. Naval Observatory , NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day , Time and Date , and Wikidata . Brief factual statements are presented for editorial reference under fair-use principles; deeper accounts and copyrighted media remain with their original publishers via the external links on each page. Unofficial educational resource.
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