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John Quincy Adams's Diary Entries to Be Posted on Twitter

by Caleb Johnson on August 5, 2009 at 04:18 PM

The whole idea of micro-blogging might not be very revolutionary, after all. A diary held in the archives of John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. president, reveals concise entries on daily life that closely resemble tweets.

According to Fox News, the Massachusetts Historical Society will start posting these 200-year-old entries Wednesday on Twitter. Along with these entries (which of course won't exceed 140 characters), the historians will link to a map that tracks Adams's journey to Russia as a U.S. Minister. The tweets give insight into Adams's daily life, highlighting things like weather conditions, food he ate, and books he read. Judging by the entries, Adams mastered the art of tweeting long before celebrities like @THE_REAL_SHAQ. Take this one from Aug. 15, 1809 for example: "Weather fine-- wind scanty. Lat: 44-13. Long: 53-40. This afternoon I found the Caboose on fire."


Okay, so it's not the most riveting stuff, but at just 95 characters, it sure is an efficient tweet. If nothing else, maybe this fun little experiment will get some young folks interested in history. [From: Fox News]

Tags: america, diary, history, john quincy adams, JohnQuincyAdams, microblogging, top, twitter

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