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Have you ever wondered what birthstone/gems or flowers match the month you were born in, if the answer is yes then here’s the run down.

January – the birthstone for this month is Garnet, which is usually a deep red gem. A Garnet forms part of a group of silicate minerals including almandine, pyrope, spessartine, grossular, andradite, mozambique and uvarovite. As for the flower, it is the Carnation. It’s official name is the Dianthus caryophyllus. It thought to be native to the Mediterranean region but the exact region is unknown.

February – the gem this month is Amethyst, a soft violet coloured stone. An Amethyst is a mineral gemstone deriving from quartz and it’s usually transparent. The Violet flower is February’s bloom. These are a group of Spring flowering plants from the Violaceae family. Violets usually have heart-shaped leaves with asymmetrical flowers.

March – The gorgeous turquoise gemstone of Aquamarine is this month stone. In ancient myth, Aquamarine was believed to be the treasure of mermaids. Sailors are said to use this gemstone as a talisman of good luck, fearlessness and protection. It’s also been known as the stone of eternal youth and happiness. The Daffodil is the flower of the month. It’s proper name and family are that of the Narcissus jonquilla family. This is a bright trumpet like flower.

April – The clear innocence and beauty of a diamond is the stone for this month. A Diamond is a solid form of the carbon element, its measured in diamond cubics. The flower of the month is a Sweet Pea or Daisy. The sweet pea is a flowering plant from the Lathyrus family, native to Sicily, Cyprus and the Aegean Islands. Whilst the Daisy belongs to the family Asteraceae. It is closely related to the artichoke and arnica and there are around 4000 known species of daisies that differ in size, shape, colour and type of habitat.

May – The beautiful green stone which is the Emerald is the gem for May and means happiness. It is made from a variety of the mineral beryl coloured green because of the traces of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Although they are durable stones, emeralds are susceptible to chipping. The adorable fragrant Lily of the Valley is the flower for this month. This petite flower is sweetly scented yet a highly poisonous woodland flowering plant, that will flower in cooler temperatures.

June – Synonymous with June is the opulent Pearl meaning wealth. These jewels are the only ones created by a living animal. A natural pearl is rare and is only found in about 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters. The majestic Rose is the flower for the month of June. This flower can usually be found as a prickly bush or shrub that bears red, pink, yellow, or white fragrant flowers, and belongs to the Rosaceae family.

July – The seductive red Ruby is the gemstone for the month of July, and it means freedom. A ruby is made from a variety of the mineral corundum. The word ruby originates from the Latin word Rubens, which means red. The flower for July is the Larkspur. This delphinium has about 300 species of the flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Larkspur are toxic to humans and livestock. It is thought that in England, the larkspur flowers were used to cure ailments and were part of the Summer Solstice celebrations.

August – The friendship gem of Peridot is the stone for the month of August. It has a gem like quality and is made up of an olivine and a silicate mineral. It was known as the ‘Gem of the Sun’ in Egyptians times and was worn by Queen Cleopatra. The largest known Peridot stone is a 46.16 carat stone that was extracted in Pakistan and is housed in the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC. The flower for the month of August is the large Gladiolus and they come from the Iridaceae Family. Gladiolus is also known as the Sword Lily, due to its sword shaped leaves. The impressive flower spikes on stalk like stems in a wide array of beautiful colours.

September – The deep blue Sapphire meaning Truth is the gemstone for September. Sapphires belong to the mineral family known as corundum. They are the second strongest gemstone after the diamond. The Aster is the flower of the month. This perennial flowering plant is part of the Asteraceae family. The word “aster” originates from the Greek word and means “star”, due to the flowers shape of flower head. The Aster is also known as the “frost flowers” as they are often used during the autumn and winter.

October – Opal is the gem for this month and means hope. It is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, it is because the unusual opal stone is formed from rain. It is believed that when the rain water seeps into the rock crevasses and then evaporates, the silica that is left behind dries and hardens and that is what make a precious opal. The flower for October is the Calendula, which is more commonly known as the Marigold. These flowers are also known for their culinary, medicinal, and magical herbs.

November – The stunning Topaz gem is the stone for November and means loyalty. Topaz comes in many colours but is usually a striking yellow shade. The word Topaz means “fire” in Sanskrit, which is the classical language of Indian and also the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The Chrysanthemum is the flower of November looks like a daisy with a normally yellow centre and usually has a pretty, decorative pompon as it’s petals. The chrysanthemum flower symbolises optimism and joy.

December – For the last month of the year, the aquatic looking Turquoise gem is the symbol, with many believing that this opaque, blue/green stone was thought of as a Holy stone and the bringer of success, and good fortune. Holly is the flower for December. English holly is commonly used as decorations at Christmas time. The holly bush or tree has spiky green waxy leaves which are tough and red berries. The holly tree does not lose it’s leaves in the Winter as they are very strong.

Now you know what flower, birthstone or gem is associated with each month, it might help solve getting that special gift for someone on their birthday.

The Nachthexen or “Night Witches” was the German nickname given to the formidable female aviators from the 588th Soviet Night Bomber Regiment. The pilots saw their name as a badge of honour.

This regiment flew bombing missions for the Soviet Air Force against the German military during the Second World War. The female squadron trained as pilots, navigators and engineers.

The group consisted of 40 two person crews, flying over 30,000 missions and dropping 23,000 tons of bombs.

Each pilot flew more than 800 missions often carrying out eight every night. They were an unique unit, being the only all female combatants during World War II and were the most highly decorated female squadron in the Soviet Union Air Force.

The Night Witches flew biplanes made of wood and canvas which were originally built for crop dusting and training purposes. But this made them light which made it easier for the women to fly them. However, because of this it also made the planes slow and they could only carry six bombs at a time.

There were no parachutes on board the planes and the female pilots had no radar or technology to help guide them, only a compass and maps.

Due to the aeroplane cockpit being open, pilots would often suffer from numbness and frostbite during their flights.

The planes were very slow, with the maximum speed of the biplane being slower than the “stall” speed of German aircraft, so the Night Witches used the attack method of idling the engines and gliding before dropping a bomb.

This stealth mode left only the whooshing sound of the wind to give away their location and the Nachthexen would often return from the missions with bullets through their maps, planes and helmets.

The German fighters in their highly advanced aircraft feared the Night Witches because of their bravery and stealth.

The longest serving First Lady of the United States of America was a woman named Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and she was known as one of the most outspoken first lady’s of the White House.

Eleanor Roosevelt was born on 11th October 1884 in New York City into the Roosevelt dynasty and she had a very privileged and political upbringing.

Her uncle was Theodore Roosevelt, who was the President of the USA from 1901-1909.

When Eleanor was 10 years old she lost both her parents to diphtheria. She was sent to England to be educated and became a strong, confident and independent woman. She chose to work as a social worker which served her well in later life.

In 1905, she married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her distant 5th cousin and they went on to have six children. Franklin was a senator and Eleanor was active in the American Red Cross during World War I.

In 1921, Franklin contracted polio, which left his legs paralysed but Eleanor persuaded Franklin to continue in politics and with her help he became the 32nd President of the United States in 1933.

Whilst Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady, she changed the role of purely being a hostess to that of a politician.

She spoke passionately about women’s rights, human rights, racial discrimination, welfare, workers’ rights and children’s issues.

She worked with the Women’s Trade Union League to abolish child labour and set up a minimum wage.

Eleanor was also active in the civil rights movement insisting on equal rights for everyone, regardless of race, even going so far as to break tradition and invite several African-Americans into the White House for social and political causes.

As the policy of presidential terms was different back in the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he spent four terms in office from 1933 to 1945, which spanned across the Great Depression and World War II. This is how Eleanor Roosevelt remains to be the longest serving first lady of the USA.

The policy has however now changed, so that a sitting president can only serve a maximum of two consecutive terms (8 years).

Eleanor’s husband Franklin died in 1945 and the then Vice President, Harry Truman became president.

Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate to the United Nations, a post she held from 1945-1953.

She became the Chair of the UN’s Human Rights Commission and during her time she helped to co-write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 1961, at the age of 77 years old, the new president John F. Kennedy appointed Eleanor to become involved in the UN again along with the National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corp and also the chair of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women.

Eleanor was known as one of the greatest humanitarians with an overwhelming sensitivity to those in need.

She sought out political and social change wanting to make the world a fairer and better place before sadly passing away on 7th November 1962.

The accolade of being the oldest person in history belongs to a lady called Jeanne Louise Calment, who was born on 21st February 1875 in Arles, France and lived there her whole life.

Jeanne was the oldest verified living person ever, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records. She lived to be 122 years and 164 days old, passing away on the 4th August 1997.

During her lifetime, she met the world renowned painter Vincent van Gogh, when he walked into her uncle’s art shop to buy some canvasses for his paintings. She also remembered seeing the Eiffel Tower being built in 1889.

She got married at 21 years to a wealthy store owner named Fernand.

Although Jeanne never worked, she kept herself active with various hobbies, such as tennis, cycling, swimming, playing the piano, opera and roller-skating.

Jeanne outlived her husband, daughter and even her grandson. She decided at the age of 85 years old to take up fencing and continued to ride her bike until she was 100 years.

She smoked from the age of 21 years until she reached 117 years old and in 1995, when she reached 115 years, she starred as herself in a film called ‘Vincent and Me’, which made her the oldest actress ever to appear in a film.

Jeanne also starred in a film about her life called ‘Beyond 120 years with Jeanne Calment’ and also featured on an album called Time’s Mistress in 1996, on which she was recorded speaking over a backing of rap music.

Jeanne claimed that apart from her calm nature, her diet of olive oil, port, wine and 2 pounds of chocolate every week sustained her long life and youthful looks.

The first woman to ever fly into space was a Russian woman called Valentina Tereshkova. She was born on 6th March 1937 in the small rural town named Maslennikovo, Russia.

Valentina only attended part of her schooling and undertook most of her education through correspondence courses, but she was always fascinated with parachuting.

She trained as an amateur skydiver and made her first jump aged 22 years old. At the same time Valentina also became the secretary of the Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later joined the Communist Party.

At 25 yeas old, Valentina was selected for the female cosmonaut corps. She was chosen mainly due to her expertise with parachuting/skydiving, but also met the other criteria, which was being under the age of 30, less than 5ft 7 inches tall and weighing less than 154 pounds.

Valentina was chosen from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot the spacecraft Vostok 6 in 1963.

On the 16th June 1963, Valentina took off on her solo mission and became the first woman to fly in space and as she was only an honorary member of the Soviet Air Force she also became the first civilian to do so.

Valentina spent 3 days in space and orbited Earth 48 times during her flight.

During this time, she made notes of her observations, photographed the horizon and during those three days in space, logged more time in space than the combined total of any American (male) astronauts that had gone before her.

After Valentina returned to Earth, it would be another 19 years before another female would take to orbit. The Soviet Union closed down the all female cosmonaut group in 1969.

After her space flight, Valentina became a well respected politician and engineer. She studied at Zhukovsky Air Force Academy and became a cosmonaut engineer with a PhD in engineering.

She still remains a hero in post Soviet Russia and was honoured as a flag-carrier at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

She’s was also part of the Soviet Unions Peace Council and has been awarded many medals and honours in her lifetime, which includes the Hero of the Soviet Union medal (Russia’s highest medal of honour), the United Nations Medal of Peace and the Simba International Women’s Movement Award.

Valentina Tereshkova is considered to be one of the Soviet Union’s top three cosmonauts, which includes Yuri Gagarin and Alexey Leonov.

The Moon’s Tereshkova Crater was named after her and despite being in her eighties now, she has said that she would be willing to go on a one way trip to Mars if the opportunity ever arose.