Twitter continues its series of year-end reflections with a look at the tweets per second during various events throughout the year. Previously we looked at the Twitter story of a homeless man being reunited with his daughter, the top trending topics and hashtags of the year, and the celebrities that joined Twitter in 2011.

In a post on the official Twitter blog, the company says:

The biggest moments on Twitter this year were live events and breaking news, when millions of people came together to watch significant events as they unfolded in real time. These moments range from natural disasters and geopolitical happenings to championship games, and reflect the way people turn to Twitter for a fast, simple way to communicate.

Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement on MTV’s Video Music Awards in August broke the record for the highest TPS spike of all time: nearly 9,000 Tweets per second. Live sporting events accounted for six out of the top 16 TPS spikes, with the final game of the Women’s FIFA World Cup holding the TPS record for sports. Hard news, including word of Troy Davis’ execution (7,671 TPS) and Steve Jobs’ resignation (7,064 TPS), round out the list.

So here’s the tweets per second list:

6,939 – JAN 1 – New Years
4,064 – FEB 6 – Super Bowl
5,530 – MAR 11 – Japanese earthquake and tsunami
3,966 – APR 29 – UK Royal Wedding
5,106 – MAY 2 – Raid on Osama bin Laden
6,303 – MAY 28 – UEFA Champions League
5,531 – JUN 13- NBA Finals
6,436 – JUN 27 – BET Awards
4,995 – JUL 11 – Home Run Derby
7,166 – JUL 17 – Brazil eliminated from the Copa America
7,196 – JUL 17 – End of FIFA Women’s World Cup
5,449 – AUG 23 – East Coast earthquake
7,064 – AUG 25 – Steve Jobs resigns
8,868 – AUG 28 – MTV Video Music Awards
7,671 – SEP 20 – Troy Davis executed
6,049 – OCT 6 – Steve Jobs passes away

Here are some more year-end lists you might be interested in:

Facebook’s Top Status Trends of 2011
Celebrities who joined Twitter in 2011
Twitter’s top topics and hashtags of 2011
Most search in 2011 – Yahoo
Most searched/aksed in 2011 – AOL and Ask
Most searched in 2011 – Bing