Famous Tweets of History

People have been tweeting about events since the dawn of time. Lets look at some of these tweets and figure out by whom, when, where or why they were sent.

“OMG y r dey drivin thru T square? I better check”

‘Tank Man’: is the informal name given to the Chinese man who stood in front of a row of tanks in the middle of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square during the protest of 1989.This act of non-violent protest catapulted himself to fame. He became one of ‘Time’ Magazine’s most influential person of the century. Sadly, there is no reliable information about the identity or the fate of the ‘Tank Man’. It is considered one of the most iconic images of all time.  Undoubtedly life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

“ Just reached shore; Turtles! Science Luvs finches”

Charles Darwin: was well known for establishing his theories on evolution. He gleaned from experiments and observational studies held on the Galapagos islands when the HMS Beagle landed there on a trip around the world. He was also a methodical gardener, eminent naturalist, prolific diarist and generous correspondent. But perhaps his greatest gift was for scalding one liners- We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realised that they were inside us.

“Best seats at Fords- good reviews?”

Abraham Lincoln: Allegedly this was his final message. He was shot in the head as he watched the play. “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s theatre in Washington D.C. on April 14th 1965. Ford’s theatre had been rebuilt two years earlier, and it has since become a national historic landmark due to its significance in American history. Despite remodelling on the exterior, the President’s box and stage were kept in good condition after the event. It opened for productions just shy of one hundred years later.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

At 10:56 pm on July 20th 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the lunar surface, This was the first moonwalk in the history of man ( before Michael Jackson made his own in 1980s ). During 6 landings of the Apollo Missions- Twelve astronauts walked on the lunar surface, Six  of those drove Lunar Roving vehicles, three flew to the Moon twice, one orbiting both times and two landing once apiece. Apart from these 24 men, no human being has gone beyond low Earth orbit.

“From orbit: Launch was awesome!!. I am feeling great, working hard & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!”

For today’s twitter generation, Mike Massimino holds a special standing as the first person to tweet from space on May 13th 2009.

“Heading out for a ride. Back soon. Patriots”

In 1775, shortly before the United States achieved independence from Great Britain the following year, there were several battles which paved the way to American successes. Paul Revere’s – The Midnight ride, involved bringing lanterns to a tower to signal the movement of the British forces while Revere rode horse back, warning the ‘patriots’ of the attack.

“Still no signs from the North. No pigs either”

The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile crisis occurred in the late 1962 and were regarded as some of the key points of interests in the cold war. With the world on edge and afraid of nuclear war, tensions were high and Russia assisted Cuba in procuring nuclear arms. The US tried to block off Cuba while Cubans, especially those on the northern shores, watched out for invading forces from the South Eastern US. The Bay of Pigs was an operation in the South West of Cuba and while it was not successful for the Americans, it fuelled the actions of Cuban socialists in support of Fidel Castro.

“ Just setting up my twttr”

On March 21st 2006, the world’s first tweet on Twitter was posted by Twitter Co founder and CEO Jack Dorsey. This was back when the platform was called ‘Twttr’ and not ‘Twitter’.