Ocotber 16th, 2005
in 1758, Nouh Webstir, grate reformir uv thee Eenglish laingwige, wuz born in Hartfird, Kunetikut.
in 1793, former Queen of France Marie Antoinette is pardoned by the revolutionary committee controlling France. Her sentence is lessoned because it is discovered that she is pregnant; since her husband, King Louis, had been executed some 9 months prior, she confesses that she has been having an affair with her guard in order to secure better treatment. On her release, she is married to the guard, and lives the rest of her life in mild seclusion in Paris.
in 1890, Salt Lake City is rocked by a series of explosions as rebel Latter-Day Saint Charles Brigman sets off his hidden caches of explosives around the city. Hundreds die in the worst day of fighting on American soil since the Civil War. Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson is forced to use his troops for rescue missions, and Brigman escapes again.
in 1934, the Ch'ang Cheng, or Long March, begins for China's Communists. It was the last of their disastrous decisions that led to their eventual defeat at the Hsiang River in November. Former leader Mao Zedong was killed in the Long March after arguing vociferously against it, and after his death the party lost virtually all of its popular support.
in 1951, the future Reverend Richard Penniman recorded the gospel tune, How Great Thou Art at a studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Penniman had been tempted to join a rock and roll band, ironically enough, before choosing the path of the Lord in his music. He was later instrumental in getting rock and roll banned in California.
in 1964, Soviet leader Georgy Melenkov crushes a coup attempt by his deputies Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin. The pair are executed very publicly for treason, and Melenkov's hard-core Stalinism continues to oppress the people of the Soviet Union. As Brezhnev and Kosygin had feared, this causes the Second Revolution in 1970, overthrowing the Communist Party after 53 years in power.
in 1970, the Greater Zionist Resistance lost its greatest general when Moshe Dayan was surrounded by New Reich stormtroopers in Timbuktu and shot to death. Dayan had led a mere handful of Zionists to a number of victories against the Reich over the years, but was unable to create a miracle when caught alone.
in 1991, Suzanne Gratia becomes a hero to the NRA and many other like-minded citizens when she guns down a deranged man who had driven his pickup into the restaurant when Gratia and her family were eating. Gratia had taken her pistol with her into the restaurant concealed in his purse; Gratia's heroism led to the repeal of concealed handgun laws in Texas, since her actions were technically illegal at the time.
in 2000, Mel Carnahan, governor of Missouri and candidate for the U.S. Senate, narrowly survived a plane crash while campaigning. Carnahan was knocked out of action long enough for his opponent, Senator John Ashcroft, to gain a crucial advantage and win re-election. It was a bittersweet night for Republicans, though; while they retained control of the Senate, Vice-President Al Gore won election to the Presidency with over 50 million votes, the most votes a Democratic candidate had ever received.
in 2002, questions start flying around about the mysterious disappearing bar hoppers, and the Pentagon furiously berates Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney. They promise not to do anything like that again. The haranguing is cut short when the scientists both suddenly look at the sky; the brass know what that means, and they scramble all of their space-trained pilots and launch, with the scientists at the lead.
TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 4 days left! We're down to the last week!
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 Legal Info - By entering the contest, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on October 31st, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. 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!
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