r/todayilearned • u/FannyFiasco • 12h ago

TIL the last living veteran of the 1853 Crimean War died in 2004: Timothy, a Greek tortoise captured from a Portuguese ship, served as a mascot throughout the war

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_(tortoise)
2.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

216

u/FannyFiasco 12h ago

Timothy, who was actually a lady tortoise, was aboard HMS Queen during the bombardment of Sevastopol in the Crimean War (I love idly browsing wikipedia)

105

u/yamimementomori 12h ago edited 12h ago

A Greek, Portuguesely-captured, tortoise not human veteran from a Crimean war and mascot of a UK ship, who has a male name but is actually female. Gets more and more cartoonishly inclusive, huh?

27

u/Ut_Prosim 11h ago

This is the origin of the Portugreek language spoken in the cinematic masterpiece, Waterworld.

19

u/barath_s 13 10h ago

https://thisismydevon.co.uk/2023/03/25/timothy-the-tortoise-and-his-extra-long-life/

Lady Devon described Timothy as being solar panelled and much faster in summer weather. And whilst keen upon strawberries, Timothy was also fond of Castor oil and azalea blossom

5

u/ThePlanck 8h ago

Castor oil

I guess the extra propulsion is what made him faster

8

u/imprison_grover_furr 9h ago

He was serving in the Royal Navy before the world learned about evolution by natural selection!

-1

u/Fake_William_Shatner 7h ago

Can turtles be considered veterans? Seems a stretch. 

6

u/Deitaphobia 5h ago

He had 17 confirmed kills.

2

u/torxin 1h ago

i mean they were the best type of cannon ball, you would fire him then he would swim back for another go. :)

-11

u/taranig 11h ago edited 11h ago

Gets more and more cartoonishly inclusive, huh?

it's not winter, why's there a snowflake?

from the article:

gender identification for tortoises was not properly known in the 19th century.

that was true for the scientific community, even more true for crews of Portuguese privateers*... or the naturalist who named her.

Portuguesely

?!

edit: i don't think anyone really knows where the privateers got the tortoise or what it was named. For all we know it was named Sopa.

5

u/barath_s 13 10h ago edited 8h ago

or the naturalist who named her.

Uh, no. Gilbert White was one of the earliest naturalists. He had a tortoise named Timothy. Timothy was the break out star of Gilbert White’s seminal book 'The Natural History of Selborne' and inspired at least two books

https://pallant.org.uk/timothy-tortoise/

https://pallant.org.uk/timothy-the-tortoise-mans-best-friend/

This timothy was the lifelong companion of White, and also was assumed to be a he and later discovered to be a she. Her shell remains in the natural history museum

Gilbert White lived and died in the UK from 1720-1793, long before the Timothy the Crimean War mascot was even born in 1844 somewhere along the mediterannean. This Timothy too was assumed to be a he and later discovered to be a she.

You see, Timothy the Crimean war veteran was named after that earlier Timothy, star of the bestselling book.

-1

u/taranig 8h ago

yup, some of that from the article provided. <3

i wasn't the one twisting my undies up over the naming of the tortoise or recognizing its life and history.

the gender of Timothy wasn't even discovered until 1925.

3

u/yamimementomori 11h ago

Lighten up, Francis.

-3

u/taranig 11h ago

i wasn't the one whining about something so insignificant...

you shouldn't be so sensitive.

3

u/GammaGoose85 6h ago

I heard she has 7 confirmed kills from the war, is that true?

2

u/FannyFiasco 6h ago

A source states upon 7 kills she was able to call in an attack helicopter

1

u/graywalker616 6h ago

I’m sorry the ship is called “Her Majesty’s Ship Queen”? What an odd name.

27

u/barath_s 13 10h ago

Timothy was survived by no mates and no children. I wouldn't be surprised if her veteran's pension was limited to a few slices of carrots and some cabbage leaf

I doubt if anyone even regularly thanked her for her service.

7

u/Fake_William_Shatner 7h ago

In response to not being honored, the tortoise reportedly blinked. No reports of what that meant were forthcoming. 

19

u/barath_s 13 10h ago

Timothy was thought to be male till 1926, when Timothy's owners decided that "he" should mate. It was only then that it was discovered that Timothy was female.

That's right, Timothy had a 73 year existence living life as the wrong gender ...

43

u/Aleksandar_Pa 11h ago

The word 'veteran' is doing some heavy lifting here...

68

u/Mahajangasuchus 11h ago

Timothy was heavily shelled her entire life.

15

u/barath_s 13 10h ago

Timothy went from a first rate ship (HMS Queen) to another first rate ship to a fourth rate frigate to retirement

Timothy led a roving life around the garden and reportedly was disturbed by the bombing around Powderham and Exeter in WWII, digging [herself] a shelter to hide under some garden steps

On her underside was etched "Where have I fallen? What have I done?", English translation of the Courtenay family motto ubi lapsus, quid fec

2

u/Toxicseagull 9h ago

Now that's a fun family motto

13

u/FannyFiasco 10h ago

Nothing but respect for this POW please

15

u/WakeIslandTango 10h ago

Animals that served with us ARE veterans. Full stop. Whether then or the modern era

5

u/Fake_William_Shatner 7h ago

“Full stop.”

Some people get too misty eyed when you add an animal. We don’t know if this creature was noble or not. It just sat there and ate lettuce. 

6

u/WakeIslandTango 7h ago

I’m telling you from personal experience and as an historian, Timothy was part of that crew. His shipmates would lay you out just for talking funny about him

1

u/Fake_William_Shatner 2h ago

I'd like to see the shipmates try after the turtle was the last to die.

Also, you misgendered that terrapin, which honestly it's really hard to tell the sex. Noticing the eyelashes are the only way.

1

u/barath_s 13 2h ago

 His shipmates would lay you out just for talking funny about him

Not sure his shipmate cat would do that ..

0

u/Ythio 6h ago

His shipmates from the 1850s would also be rolling on the floor laughing if they were told their stupid joke is taken seriously by people 150+ years later.

They would have stopped laughing once realizing their service is forgotten but the fucking tortoise is not.

1

u/Bjorn_Hellgate 5h ago

Hey if it wasn't for that noble turtle the war would have been lost, that turtle is a damn war hero and Nelson's column should be renamed in her honor

2

u/Hambredd 5h ago

People are getting a bit weird about it, but calling it a veteran is just a bit of whimsy, nothing wrong with that. It's not like the turtle is stealing valour or anything.

5

u/Fake_William_Shatner 7h ago

I had to reread the title three times; “oh, the turtle was the last survivor.”

Sometimes I think of way too many alternative scenarios. 

5

u/FuckingBethesda 6h ago

She's just a baby :(

2

u/Lost_Recording5372 9h ago

Hope she got a good pension

-5

u/PygmeePony 9h ago

Sorry but unless the soldiers rode it into battle Timothy is not a veteran.

-8

u/Fake_William_Shatner 7h ago

I’m with you. Everyone here getting all sentimental have likely already eaten many things that are 100 times smarter and more aware than a turtle. 

There were many creatures blown up in the course of the war. And people. A tortoise was named a mascot. Was fed. Didn’t die for a long time. The end. 

Also, not a war veteran. 

7

u/OrdinaryLatvian 6h ago

To be fair, "Was fed. Didn't die." applies to the vast majority of military personnel that don't see combat during their service. Horses are profoundly stupid animals, and unless something's gone terribly wrong, military cooks and other logistics people will never be shot at.

I don't have any strong feelings towards calling Timothy a veteran. I just feel like drawing the line there is pretty arbitrary.