Daily Calendar for May 11th, 2021

The Old Farmer's Almanac daily calendar gives you quick reference for the significant events on any day throughout the year.

Three Chilly Saints

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

• Three Chilly Saints

860s

• 868: First known dated printed book, Wang Jie's copy of the Diamond Sutra "published"

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

• 1858: Minnesota admitted as the 32nd state

1870s

• Died 1871: Sir John Herschel (astronomer)

1880s

• Born 1888: Irving Berlin (composer)

1890s

• Born 1892: Margaret Rutherford (actress)

• 1894: Pullman strike ended in defeat for organized labor

• Born 1894: Martha Graham (dancer)

1900s

• Born 1904: Salvador Dali (artist)

1910s

• 1910: Glacier National Park in Montana established

• Born 1918: Sheila Burnford (author of The Incredible Journey)

• Born 1918: Richard Feynman (physicist)

1920s

• Born 1927: Bernard Fox (actor)

1930s

• Born 1935: Doug McClure (actor)

1940s

• 1949: Siam changed its name to Thailand

1950s

• Born 1953: Boyd Gaines (actor)

1960s

• Born 1963: Natasha Richardson (actress)

• 1968: Linda McCartney became the first woman photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone cover

1970s

• Died 1973: Lex Barker (actor)

• Died 1979: Lester Flatt (musician)

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

• 1996: After taking off from Miami, FL, a fire started by improperly-handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592, and caused the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board25 Years Ago

2000s

• Died 2001: Douglas Adams (science fiction author)

• Died 2002: Joseph Bonanno (gangster)

2010s

• Died 2010: Doris Eaton Travis (last of the Ziegfeld Follies chorus girls)