Harvard Alumni Olympic Rowers... and Facebook Litigants

Two members of the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic rowing team hold Harvard degrees: Cameron Winklevoss ’04 and Tyler Winklevoss ’04...

Two members of the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic rowing team hold Harvard degrees: Cameron Winklevoss ’04 and Tyler Winklevoss ’04.

They happen to be identical twins.

The Boston Sunday Globe had a long article on the twins this week. If you've heard their names before, it's probably because of their lawsuit against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ’06. The suit, which was settled in February, claimed that the idea behind Facebook was conceived by the Winklevosses and their fellow plaintiff, Divya Narendra ’04, and that Zuckerberg accepted their payments to write computer code for a site called ConnectU, but stole the concept and used it in his own company.

The Globe's Barbara Matson writes:

The Winklevosses have taken a lot of guff about the lawsuit, because it's fun to ridicule Harvard, and because they have a background that includes Greenwich, summers in Quogue, and prep school. Also, they are impossibly constructed: 6 feet 5 inches tall, with shoulders that jut out like coat hangers, their limbs wrapped in the long, strong muscles typical of rowers, their heads crowned with identical waves of light brown hair.

Read more about the U.S. Olympic rowers at the official team site.

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Students, Alumni to Compete at the 2026 Olympics

Six Crimson athletes are headed to the XXV Winter Games in Milano Cortina. 

Introductions: Dan Cnossen

A conversation with the former Navy SEAL and gold-medal-winning Paralympic skier

England’s First Sports Megastar

A collection of illustrations capture a boxer’s triumphant moment. 

Most popular

There’s (Still) No Gay Gene

Genes seem to play a role in determining sexual orientation, but it’s small, uncertain, and complicated.

Muralist David Fichter

David Fichter paints outdoor murals that teem with life.

Why Americans Love to Hate Harvard

The president emeritus on elite universities’ academic accomplishments—and a rising tide of antagonism

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of a large mushroom cloud rising above the horizon.

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.

An axolotl with a pale body and pink frilly gills, looking directly at the viewer.

Regenerative Biology’s Baby Steps

What axolotl salamanders could teach us about limb regrowth

Anne Neal Petri in a navy suit leans on a wooden chair against an exterior wall of Mount Vernon..

Mount Vernon, Historic Preservation, and American Politics

Anne Neal Petri promotes George Washington and historic literacy.