During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the Aurora took part in the Battle of Tsusima, but that's not why it's a famous ship.
On the night of October 25-26, 1917, crew members on the Aurora fired a blank shot at the Winter Palace (then the residence of the Provisional Government), giving the signal to workers, soldiers and sailors to storm the palace. This single shot marked the beginning of the October Revolution.
The Aurora also served as a type of Bolshevik radio station. Vladimir Lenin announced the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in a wireless broadcast from the Aurora. He had the wireless operator on board the Aurora send out the information in a series of Morse Code broadcasts.
Kate and myself with the forward deck gun that shot the famous blank shell.
The gun in a revolutionary era photo.