August 30th, 2005
in 723 AUC, the combined forces of Egypt and the legions under the command of Marc Antony spell defeat for Octavian of Rome as they battle at Alexandria. Marc Antony, with his defeat of Octavian and the Senate, names himself Dictator of Rome. Although her forces are responsible for his victory, he ignores Cleopatra after this success, and she breaks diplomatic relations with the Empire; Egypt turns into a dangerously hostile neighbor to Rome.
in 1682, William Penn set forth from England to found a colony in the Americas. Unfortunately, his ship was lost in a storm with all hands. In his memory, land he had been given was named Pennsburg.
in 1797, the mother of the science fiction genre, Mary Shelley, was born in London, England. Her novels Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, Icarus, and The Seed of Cain brought into the world of literature the ideas of robots/cloning, space travel and genetic modification, respectively.
in 1916, on a test trip into the Germany of the past, neo-Nazis Astrid Pflaume and Kurt Weimer run into Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, better known to them as Lenin. They shoot him to death; much to their relief, they find on their return to their home time of 1968 that this only creates a branch timeline, rather than altering their own.
in 1935, in an attempt to win a few electoral votes in the elections coming up, Socialist President Franklin Roosevelt passes the Wealth Tax Act, which taxes wealthy people and businesses at 25% of their total profits or income. The business community cries that this measure will break them, but there is little sympathy among the working class for them, so the measure remains in effect even after Roosevelt is voted out in 1936.
in 1959, Li Huang-Sen and Huan Yue set sail for Canada from Japan. While on board the ship, Li begins sensing that something is pacing the ship. He begins watching the water to see if he can spot whatever it is visually, but it is hidden for now.
in 1970, with their ratings in the basement, The Brady Bunch was cancelled by ABC. The series about a widower and widow blending their families together simply had no appeal to America in the middle of the Hippie era and had failed to draw an audience.
in 1984, John Lennon raises a quarter million dollars in a charity auction of Pete Best memorabilia. The collection he had been saving since their days in Hamburg together brings in $257,650, in addition to promoting Lennon’s book about Best, I Want To Tell You.
in 1996, Dr. Melvin Courtney and Professor Malcolm Thomas wake up in the infirmary at Edwards Air Force base. While being shown the images of the ancient crash, they have been in a coma. The doctors at the base are happy to see them come around, but the brass at the base just want to hear what happened; once they get the story, they set the pair back to work on the object.
in 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was in a horrific car crash after paparazzi harassing her forced her driver to speed into a tunnel in Paris at a dangerously high speed. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, was killed, and the Princess lost her leg. She won millions in the lawsuit against the news organizations that employed the paparazzi.
in 2004, Chinese soldiers surround the suspected Elders and begin shooting. To everyone’s surprise, the suspects vanish into thin air. Many of their supporters turn back to the government, but there are still agitators in China who are using the chaos to overthrow the established order.
TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST
In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!
Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!
Forum Link - Boring legal info on the TIAH Halloween Contest!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?
Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, you can vote for the winner at http://aol.com/situationcomedy
Still wishing...
As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!
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