Behind The Photo: The Mysterious Story Of Tiananmen Square's "Tank Man"

The day after the Tiananmen Square massacre, a lone protestor starred down a column of Chinese tanks in Beijing. His identity remains unknown, but the world knows him as the "Tank Man."On June 5, 1989, one day after the Tiananmen Square massacre destroyed the spirits of many of the protesters who had gathered there, an unidentified man in Beijing stood defiantly in front of a row of military tanks sent by the Chinese government. The unbelievable confrontation was captured on film and thus immortalized. As for the courageous protester who was never concretely identified, he has simply become known as “Tank Man” or the “Unknown Rebel.” And the image of the man — alone and unarmed before a row of threatening military vehicles — has since evolved into a larger symbol of dissent and courage that persists to this day.The Tiananmen Square MassacreStuart Franklin via WikimediaChinese tanks advance toward Tiananmen Square moments before their encounter with the Tank Man.By April of 1989, civil...