The Battle Of Tours; Eisenhower's Epiphany

October 10th, 2005

in 110, Abd-ar-Rahman, governor of Cordoba, defeats Charles Martel, leader of the Frankish tribe in Gaul at the Battle of Tours. He was wise to praise Allah for the victory, because most of the defeated Franks saw his faith and received mercy by converting after the battle.

in 1731, English natural philosopher Henry Cavendish was born in Nice, France. Cavendish was the discoverer of the element phlogiston, the combustible part of air. His conclusions led to the banning of large fires, lest they ignite the atmosphere and burn the world.

in 12-8-4-7-12, Tlaloc showed his displeasure with the Oeztec by bringing a great storm from the ocean onto the land. Tens of thousands died in the islands of the gulf, and thousands more when the storm hit the mainland. Emperor Calzotz ordered the sacrifice of 100 slaves to appease the god.

in 1890, the Mormon hold-out Charles Brigman and 18 of his followers raid the Thompson farm outside Salt Lake City, killing Union collaborator Jedediah Thompson, his 3 wives and all of their 14 children. Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson puts a bounty on Brigman's head of $10,000, and vows that anyone who commits like offenses will be brought to justice.

in 1910, Congress of Nations Commander Mohandas Namboudry lifts martial law on the Mlosh homeworld, and allows the remaining Q'Bar to move freely in their preparations to be moved to Kantar, where their race has been exiled after the Jovian War. Although there is still some dissent, the streets of the capitol are fairly quiet.

in 1924, studio exec Ed Wood was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. Wood fancied himself a filmmaker of sorts in his youth, but after being caught by studio security when he raided a Warner Brothers' lot for props, the studio chief that had gone in to press charges against him offered him a job as an assistant. Wood became head of Warner Brothers in 1972, and his tenure was marked by a daring streak of movies that challenged America's sexuality.

in 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a formal apology to the Finance Minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he was refused service in a whites-only restaurant in Dover, Delaware. This incident brings home to Ike the injustice of segregation, and he pushes through a Civil Rights Act the next year, legally ending segregation in America. “Just as I fought the injustice of Nazism,” Eisenhower told the nation, “so must I stand against the idea that a man can be denied his fundamental rights because of the color of his skin.” In spite of often violent protests across the nation, both Eisenhower and his successor John F. Kennedy stand firm, and segregation is not allowed to rise again in America.

in 1973, Vice-President Spiro Agnew pleads not guilty to extensive charges of political corruption stemming from his time as governor of Maryland. President Nixon puts his full support behind the vice-president, and the charges against him are dropped three weeks later when the prosecutor in Maryland disappears.

in 4697, Emperor Xiao of earth informs the Y’T’T’li that they have a matter of hours to vacate the solar system. The Chdo are sending out a nanite wave which, traveling at the speed of light, will disable all non-shielded mechanical devices; and only the Chdo know how to shield from it. The Y’T’T’li flee the system.

in 2002, the 7 stolen craft from Edwards Air Force base jump into earth's orbit and Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney begin scanning near space for signs of trouble; they see it soon enough – 5 craft making their way to earth at light speed. The alien craft slow down as they approach earth orbit and a strange voice begins speaking inside all of the stolen craft. Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney argue with the voice for several minutes, and then the aliens leave. The scientists order their pilots to return to earth, then request a meeting with the president.

TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 10 days left!

In order to give us a tad more time for Halloween, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - 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. Entries must be received by October 20th! Boring contest information was available on our Forum link below, but since the forum has been hacked, we'll email it back to you if you want to know what it is. 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 not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
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, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

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!