So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

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Don't forget - Birthday Contest for Steve – November 22, 1967. Send in an alternate birthday for him for us to post!

A Final Note From Robbie: This is it – my last posting as your Alternate Historian. From today forward, I will be a Visiting Professor Emeritus, at most, while Steve will take over the daily duties here at the Academy as its chief Alternate Historian.

I naturally want to thank everyone who's read me regularly over the last 3 years for sticking with TIAH, and I hope you'll give RATMANifesto a look – but not till after the Labor Day weekend, because I'm going on vacation for the next 3 days. That's something that I've been a little reluctant to do since I started this page; it's going to be odd to be able to sleep late. I'll miss the routine of having a set schedule to post – but not getting up in the morning 2 hours before the crack of dawn to do it.

I hope that you will take it easy on Steve as he begins his tenure as the AH – save the hard knocks till after he's had a couple of months to acclimate himself (just kidding, Steve!) He has a lot of great ideas and will be attempting to push TIAH further than it's ever gone before, and I will certainly be following him on this journey. I hope that you will, too.

Appropriately enough, for my last posting I have an alternate history entry. Today is my sister's birthday, and I'm going to use my last day as the Big Man On Campus to send out a happy birthday to her.

So, good luck, Steve, and thanks to everybody! My entry follows this, the limey line (used for the last time here) follows that, and then Steve takes over. You will be able to reach him at althistorian@gmail.com - he inherits the email from me. I am keeping the hotmail account, though, so you can reach me with your goodbyes at althistorian@hotmail.com. And now, farewell, so long, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye.

in 1959, Gari Lynn Taylor was born in Houston, Texas, the last child of the Reverend W.D. and Peggy Taylor. A heart attack brought the reverend to an end when Gari Lynn was 2, and she grew up without a father figure. Some critics have speculated that this tragedy is what forged the strength of character that Ms. Taylor showed in her journalism and opinion writing, and the self-reliance she learned from her childhood stood her in good stead when she began her own publishing company, Slap Upside The Head, Inc. Today, Ms. Taylor's advice books on everything from child-rearing to alternative energy sources routinely top the bestseller lists, and she is a regular fixture on talk shows, famous for her earthy, home-spun wisdom.

In 1997, a telephone call was placed to the Hôtel Ritz in Paris. Codewords spoken that trigged deep-mind instructions, programmed under hypnosis by agents of the Security Services of France. An ex-pilot consumed a large amount of alcohol from a hotel mini-bar. Chauffeured two young people in a 1994 Mercedes-Benz S280 sedan (registration no. 688 LTV 75). Went into seizure as agents on motorcycles flashed bright lights into the vehicle. Crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel. Stole a beacon of light from a world of need.

~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne

In 2026, the editorial team set down the key themes for The World in 2027. Put simply, could the Center of International Research for the Continuance of Life on Earth (CIRCLE) solve the myriad of problems threatening humanity with extinction?

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1947, the Indian Hockey team withdrew from the Games of the XIV Olympiad to be held in London, England the following year. The decision had been prompted by the Indian Emergency, after Winston Churchill's reneged on a promise to grant Independence to the Subcontinent, preferring instead to announce Dominion Status. The withdrawal was a deep source of embarrassment to the British Government. The Indian Hockey Team had won the Gold Medal in every Olympics since 1928, and in a moment, a feeling of British pride had been transformed into shame. Churchill himself was disturbed greatly by the protest. He desperately needed the Indian Divisions of the British Army to maintain Great Power status, and now he feared that he could not longer depend upon the loyalty of these fine troops.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1975, in Richard Matheson's I am Legend the bombings had spread the vampiris bacteria, killing everyone including Robert Neville's wife and daughter. The survivors of the war were the vampires, the infected, and Neville himself, trapped inside his fortified home.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris. Controversy raged for many years over the culpability of paparazzi on motorbikes who had shone bright lights into the vehicle for flash photography. Newspaper refused to publish the pictures taken after the crash. Those photographs finally emerged in 2015. They showed Diana very composed, not injured at all.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Master Tubby	In 2003, Master Tubby Bear was arrested in Toy Town for breach of the peace. Miss Pink had "reported a loud 'orrid noise" to PC Plod, who was unable to hear what she was saying because of a "loud 'orrid noise". In his defence, Master Tubby had stated "My Uncle Tubby bought me this drum set. Its my birthday, I'll do what I like."
The case continues.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cary Grant	In 1943, on Broadway reporters ask the British actor Cary Grant how he feels about the events since the premier of “Castle Bonny” in which he played the part of Dick Blaine. The final scene shows Dick, Laszlo and a detachment of Free British soldiers on a ship, to incorporate the Allies' 1943 invasion of England. In ..
.. the real world that invasion had succeeded just the day before. "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant; even I want to be Cary Grant" quipped the actor.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2127/2003, a dramatic scene is played out in a deep cell of Paddington Green Police ..	Paddington Green..
.. Station. Being interviewed are twenty-second century fugitive Brent and first Asian QC Kim Hollis. Urgent investigations are being pursued in relation to the apparent suicide of the Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith. To a disbelieving audience, Hollis says the world of 2127 is most definitely not a Newt Gingrich pipe dream. First nations have risen up in Jihad after the Second Gulf War, and theyrule the roost.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Diana	In 1997, the Prince of Wales and his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles die in a car crash in Paris. Conspiracy theories on the internet abound for the next fifteen years, including the most scandalous of all. The event was no accident, but a deliberate assassination organised by the British State to prevent the Heir to the Throne ..
.. from besmirching the Royal Family at a crucial moment in its long history. The Prince had seen no reason, often being smuggled out of Palaces in the boots of cars to meet with Camilla. Republicanism was rife, the British public simply could not understand this adultery from “the Queen of Hearts”, Princess Diana who was universally adored throughout the nation and Commonwealth. The facts were never proven, yet the fires of republicanism died down as Diana and her sons occupied the thrown and ushered in a new era of change for the Royal Household.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1939, on this day the terminally ill British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned. The popular figure Anthony Eden succeeded him, a move which had been widely anticipated since he had architected the Munich Settlement two years before. “Friction between the Great Powers was understandable,” said Eden in his ..	Chamberlain
.. maiden speech “ but there was a larger picture. European powers had a shared interest and gathering forces outside the continent would, if unchecked, become a major problem in ten to twenty years time.” Actually, Eden had suffered a terrible dream in which his beloved son Simon died in a future war. As the leader of the nation, he would not suffer such a personal tragedy, he had seen what it had done to Asquith during the great war.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Not for Turning

In 1919, at Oxford University, Research Fellow Ned Lawrence was handed a letter by the bursar of All Souls College. “Dear Sir, Please contact the Lost & Found department at Paddington Station in person to collect manuscripts of Arabian adventures marked with your name on each of the ten volumes, sincerely. &c. &c.”

Breitling

In 2021, from the Canton of Jura watchmaker Breitling launched a Certified Chronometer designed primarily for aviation use on the planet Mars. Mars’ average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU) and its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days. The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.

In the 1940s, Breitling added a circular slide rule to the bezel of their chronograph models for use by aircraft pilots. This became the famous Navitimer model. During the 1950s and 1960s, a version of the Navitimer was offered by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association with the AOPA logo on the dial. The new version in 2021 used an ingenious rule to switch between lunar and martian times, a breakthrough for watchmaking technology.

Thatcher

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful entry "What if Patrick Magee had failed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario where Margaret Thatcher survived the 1984 bomb explosion in the Grand Hotel, Brighton and served as British Prime Minister until 1997. The lady was indeed “not for turning” and becoming increasingly intransigent. In the fictional scenario, Thatcher beats the Miners strike, refuses to authorise the European Communities Act in 1985 or the join the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1990. Growing in stature to become the most powerful woman on the planet, she then refuses to allow Saddam Hussein to seize Kuwait and finally refusing to hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese government in 1997, causing her downfall.

Gillian Gibbons	In 2007, a British teacher was found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The court in Khartoum have ordered Mrs Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, to receive 40 lashes for committing the offences. She had been accused on three counts of insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs. The British Foreign Office said it was extremely disappointed by the verdict. “I have called in the Sudanese ambassador this evening to discuss next steps” said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
British Teacher

Miliband said he was also "extremely disappointed" the charges had not been dismissed and repeated his view that it had been an "innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher". "Our priority now is to ensure Ms Gibbons' welfare, and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her. As a minimum the British Government will insist upon post-medical treatment following the punishment." he said.

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In 1981, “the mutant white rats had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair. Now the dark rats were restless, tormented by a craving they could not satisfy. But the white slug like thing that ruled them knew. Its two heads weaved to and fro and a stickiness drooled from its mouth as it remembered the taste of human flesh..." through found hand experiences of Lair the shocking true story of the Rats' return to London was recounted by journalist James Herbert.

James Herbert

Anthony G. Williams	In 1936, in London the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire. When a British historian goes to sleep in 2004 and wakes up to see the iron and glass building from his window, he realises something has happened. He convinces the powers that be that war is coming for which Britain will be inadequately prepared and in so doing initiates an altered and more thorough strategic purpose in British re-armament. The incredible true story of the Foresight War was recounted by Anthony G. Williams himself later that year.

In 1943, at the Tehran Conference U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin establish an agreement on Operation Overlord. The planned June 1944 invasion of China will proceed, and Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek stopped in his bid for Asian conquest.

Chiang Kai-Shek

Not Fade Away

August 13th, 2007

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The Announcement

Co-Historian Says: I've not heard from the boss today so I'm assuming yesterday's computer surgery is still a work in progress or birthday parties in Texas get started real early. He would want me to remind you to send in your alternate birthdays for him (August 14, 1965) and me (November 22, 1967) for our Birthday Contest!

In 2004, the fall of the Third Temple predicted thirty years before by Moshe Dayan progressed from strong probability to certain fact in the State of Israel. Troops of the Arab Legion shelled the State compound in which the defiant Ariel Sharon was cornered. A long siege was lifted only when Sharon died of a massive brain tumour eighteen months later.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1990, singer, songwriter and guitarist Curtis Mayfield narrowly avoided major injury when stage lighting equipment fell and narrowly missed him at an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. Mayfield forged ahead, wrote, sang and directed the recording of New World Order with the legendary guitarist, Edmund Darris.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1997, gangsta rapper and producer Dr. Dre discovered a demo tape to Slim Shady recorded by unknown artist Eminem floating around Interscope label president Jimmy Iovine's office.	Eminem
"The first day we worked together," said Dre, "we worked for, like, five or six hours and achieved nothing." "My Name Is" was one of the songs. "Em came in real quiet, real humble," says Richard "Segal" Huredia, the engineer on the track. "Once he got on the mike, though, his lack of energy was a real problem. Which was a shame with him doing all these different voices -- we'd never heard any thing like that before. At one point, we were all just vibing to the beat, and he turns around and goes, 'Hi, my name is. . . .' We were like, 'That's kinda catchy.' " The problem suffered by Eminem predated 1997. Eminem had a one-year-old daughter at home and few commercial prospects. Determined to give the music business one more shot, he recorded the Slim Shady EP and moved from Detroit to Los Angeles. "I was reaching a boiling point, doing a lot of drugs I was so depressed," Eminem real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III said later. "When Dre called, I just wasnt able to lift my game."
~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne

"I had joined the militia almost immediately, because at that time and in that atmosphere it seemed the only conceivable thing to do. The Anarchists were still in virtual control of Catalonia and the revolution was in full swing. To anyone who had been there since the beginning it probably seemed even in December or January that the revolutionary period was ending; but when one came straight from England the aspect of Barcleona was something startling and overwhelming.
Eric Blair	It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. Practically every building of any size had been seized by the workers and was draped with red flags or with the red and black flag of the Anarchists." ~ Eric Arthur Blair in “Homage to Catalonia”
George Orwell

In 1936, Eric Arthur Blair describing his role in the Spanish Civil War, an event that would have huge long-term consequences for the people of Europe. The full article is available at Amazon

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 1942, in Manila captured General Douglas MacArthur was marched into custody by a dozen Japanese guards. The other POWs he joined at the old Spanish Prison were fellow American officers who were also captured during the Japanese conquest of the Philippines MacArthur's tragedy was not just the Command failure of defeat, but the death of wife and son when his escaping destroyer was sunk. His trademark cap was gone, service uniform filthy and his skin drawn tight; already an old man, he looked a hundred years old - yet MacArthur had no plans to fade away.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1975, in a ground-breaking event subsequently described by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "50 Moments That Changed Rock and Roll", Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began a five-night, 10-show stand at New York's Bottom Line club. The event attracted major media attention, and was broadcast live on WNEW-FM. In a reprise of the club gigs played in the 1960s, Springsteen took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay and distributing it amongst his bandmates, explaining his longstanding nickname "The Boss."

~ entry from Co-Historian Steve Payne

Fontella Bass	In 1482, to pass the long night of six hundred years at St. George El Mina Castle, a new and vibrant voice sings to Kwame. ”Baby, Rescue me, oh, take me in your arms Rescue me, I want your tender charms cause I’m lonely and I’m blue, I want you and your ..
.. love true Come on and rescue me ”
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1956, delegates of the European Monarchies met for the Berlin 2 Conference. The nomenclature recognised the historic link to the Berlin Conference of 1884-5 when representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Third Republic and German Empire achieved common agreement on the competing power's ..	Congress of Ber..
.. interest. Today they had a common interest, and that was co-coordinating efforts to suppress the wave of nationalism sweeping the African continent. His Excellency Harold “Supermac” Macmillan opened the Conference with a key note speech. In a nutshell the mineral wealth of the continent was vital to continued European hegemony of the globe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Winston Churchi..	In 2004, on this day the editor Peter Tsouras finalised the short stories entries for his compendium “Churchill Triumphant: Alternate Decisions of World War II”. This Anthology of eleven speculative articles featured "May Day: The Premiership of Winston Churchill". In this somewhat far fetched account, Halifax, ..
.. a relatively popular candidate for the post of Prime Minister, hurriedly rules himself out, arguing that he would not be able to direct the war from the House of Lords. On May 8 1940, Neville Chamberlain meets with Halifax, Churchill and Margesson, who determined that if Labour should decline to serve under Chamberlain then Churchill would have to try to form a government.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1976/1767, inexplicably set in a back country village near the great river, the King's men entered a dream for the actor Thalmus Rasulala. He watches a young boy go into the forest to cut wood, and never comes back. After awakening, Rasulala could ..	Thalmus Rasulal..
.. make absolutely no sense of the dream. Then the telephone rang, it was the author Alex Haley, about to make him the most incredible offer.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Rescued by the Master

Peter Mandelson	In 2001, Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Mandelson was confirmed in his position by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Members of the inner circle had doubt whether Mr Blair would succeed in rescuing his familiar. An unknown source reported that Mandelson had his own fears – being hung upside down by his master in a gesture as old as Macedonia. At the very least the Prince of Darkness had feared a second resignation from the cabinet over a row concerning a passport application from an Indian billionaire.
Prince of Darkness

It is the second time Mr Mandelson was under pressure to leave the cabinet in disgrace since Labour came to power in 1997. Mr Mandelson, a close confidant and friend of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said he did not accept he had acted "improperly in any way" over the passport affair. Mr Mandelson had come under increasing pressure over the issue since the weekend. He strongly denied claims he pulled strings to help Srichand Hinduja secure a UK passport in return for a £1 million sponsorship deal for the Millennium Dome while Mr Mandelson was in charge of that project. The Hinduja family is one of the most influential in the world and runs the transnational Hinduja group, a company with assets amounting to around $8 billion. Since 1990 Srichand Hinduja and his brothers Gopichand and Prakash have been defending themselves against criminal allegations in a long-running corruption case involving an arms deal between Swiss company Bofors and the Indian government. Srichand Hinduja, who with his brother Gopichand has lived in London since 1979, had his first application for UK citizenship refused in 1990. Just after paying the sponsorship money, he asked Mr Mandelson whether he could apply again. The passport was granted soon afterwards. Earlier on the same day, Mr Blair had summoned him to Downing Street to 'establish the facts' of his involvement. The next day, Minister for Europe Keith Vaz also became embroiled in the affair after it was revealed he had written to both the prime minister and Mr Mandelson about the Hinduja brothers in 1997. In March 2001, an inquiry, led by Treasury solicitor Sir Anthony Hammond QC, cleared Mr Mandelson and placed the full responsibility for wrongdoing on Mr Vaz. It was a textbook case study in the highest standards of integrity in public office, a key pledge from Tony Blair when he assumed office in 2007. Vaz felt somewhat differently, describing the events through a different perspective in his political biography 'Thrown to the Wolves'.

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	In 1966, the lives of 117 people were placed in jeopardy after an Air India Boeing 707 nearly crashed near the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps. The plane was on a regular Bombay to New York flight when the accident happened at around 0800 local time. All 106 passengers and 11 crew landed safety at Geneva airport in Switzerland. Fortunately, a Brahmacharya soul deep was amongst the passengers. Exercising 'control of the senses in thought, word and deed' the brahmacari shaped time and space to avert Moksha.
Mont Blanc

One of the passengers included chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, who was on his way to Vienna. The remaining passengers were Indian nationals, 46 of whom were sailors. Six were British. Dr Bhabha, described as a man 'who simply must not die' subsequently negotiated a nuclear free agreement for the subcontinent. Gerard Devoussoux, a mountain guide who witnessed the scene, said: 'Another 15 metres (50ft) and the plane would have hit the rock. It would have made a huge crater in the mountain'. Robert Bruce, from Tooting, who was waiting for his parents to arrive, said: 'I am so choked I cannot even cry. I will just go home with my parents and collapse. 'As far as I am concerned my world has been saved.'

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In 1965, Winston Spencer Churchill died in his Falklands stronghold, buried under a boulder inscribed, 'Founding Father of the movement to uproot Nazidom from the world.' His mission is unfulfilled at the time of writing.

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In 1945, after joking 'I drink and smoke and I am 200% fit' Winston Spencer Churchill died months before the end of World War 2, forcing the hopelessly unprepared Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee into office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had stopped smoking when he reached the Presidency, said that a similiar disaster in America would have had deeply profound consequences for the post-world war, a disguised reference to the Bomb.

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In 1924, following a series of strokes Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Bolshevik Party, and father of the revolution is forced to shape change, fleeing his cadaver to occupy the body of the rude Georgian Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Through the cult of the personality, Stalin as he Vladimir Lenin is known is able to dilineate an uninterrupted rulership as General Secretary, which is very much the case given the continuity of the demon in the two bodies. He leaves the cadaver of Lenin on display, embalmed at a mausoleum in the Kremlin in case he ever needs to make a Dracula-style exit from Russia in the future.

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In 1994, the Ames dossier demonstrated incontrovertible evidence of the CIA's role in the multiple Lee Harvey Oswald diversionary ploy. And some complementary words for the case file officer, George H.W. Bush.

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In 793 AUC Caligula, who had briefly served as Rome’s emperor before a brain fever drove him mad, dies under the care of doctors in Rome. Hard as it was for Romans to depose an emperor, Caligula was clearly in no condition to continue to server Rome as its leader. Rumors that he even began speaking to his horse were never confirmed, but were not doubted.

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In 1914, almost a year after vowing he would never work on it again, Franz Kafka finished his novel Amerika. Although most critics say that the beginning is a powerful tale of a European boy banished to America by scandal, the ending where the boy is turned into a sheep and eaten by coyotes in Oklahoma does tend to throw most people.

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In 1986, Ron Hubbard, known for his rollicking western pulps in the 30’s and 40’s, and his more epic detective and western fiction afterwards, died at his home in San Francisco, California. Reverend Hubbard, who was ordained in the Church of Christ and led a huge congregation in San Francisco, always said he was unafraid to die, since that was the last promotion God could give him.

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In 1986, Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan became the second cabinet minister to resign over the Westland affair. Before the year was out, Mrs Thatcher would be the victim of a 'political' assassination, replaced by the more moderate Michael Heseltine.

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In 1984, Apple Computers released the Macintosh, a personal computer with a graphical user interface, rather than the command line that most PC’s had used up to that point. This innovation, although not unique to Apple, rocketed them to the top of the computing world. By the end of the decade, they produced almost 80% of the computers used in America, and their operating system, licensed out to other computer manufacturers, today accounts for around 90% of the computing done in the world.

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In 1971, British industrialist Frank Spencer and his wife Betty faced the cameras after mechanical failures onboard the British spacecraft Marie Celeste had been traced to his Factory. Spencer was asked to comment on the European Space Agencies' self-inflicted wound. The British really would have to do something about this quality control problem for next time, they had said.

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