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Tank Man

Print, Comics and Photojournalism Landmarks

Tank Man is the name given to an unidentified man photographed and filmed standing alone in front of a column of Chinese army tanks near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, the day after the government's violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Beijing. Several photojournalists captured the moment from nearby hotel balconies, with the version taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener becoming the most widely reproduced, showing the man briefly halting the tanks' advance before being pulled away by bystanders. The identity and ultimate fate of the man in the photograph have never been confirmed, and the image has become one of the most widely recognized symbols of individual defiance against state power.

Facts
Release YearSourced to the subject's own account
1989 1
CountrySourced to the subject's own account
China 1
Connections

In Medium

Photography, Media Forms
Source Tank Man (Wikipedia)

Open Questions

Who was Tank Man, the unidentified man who stood in front of the tank column near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, and what became of him?, Open Questions
Source Tank Man (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Tank Man (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 3
Quote, Lead sentence 1
Tank Man (also known as the Unknown Protester or the Unknown Rebel) is an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks on Chang'an Avenue near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989.
Sources
1. Tank Man (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • infobox caption (date)
    "Tank Man" temporarily stops the advance of four Type 59 tanks on June 5, 1989, in Beijing. This photograph (one of six similar versions) was taken by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press.
  • infobox caption (location)
    "Tank Man" temporarily stops the advance of four Type 59 tanks on June 5, 1989, in Beijing. This photograph (one of six similar versions) was taken by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press.
  • In Group: War and Conflict Photographs, Lead
    The moment was captured by international photographers and television crews watching from balconies and hotel rooms overlooking the avenue.
  • In Medium: Photography, Lead
    The moment was captured by international photographers and television crews watching from balconies and hotel rooms overlooking the avenue.
View the Source
Open Questions (1 open question)
Who was Tank Man, the unidentified man who stood in front of the tank column near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, and what became of him?

Wikipedia (Tank Man, lead section): "Tank Man is an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks on Chang'an Avenue near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989." No name, fate, or identity for the man has ever been confirmed by any government or news organization, decades after the event.

What would resolve this A credible, independently verified identification of the man (by name, with corroborating documentary or eyewitness evidence accepted by reliable secondary sources), or a confirmed account of his fate.
journalismTank Man (Wikipedia)
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