Bastille Day

The state of TIAH

July 14th, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: Our thanks to everybody who gave due to our recent plea – the Academy's connection to the Internet is secure. We appreciate it sincerely, and will be emailing you personal replies shortly. Now, on to our alternate Bastille Day!

in 1789, Louis Capet, a peasant who claimed to be of royal lineage, led a mob of enraged Parisians to the Bastille, a fortress in Paris, in order to gain ammunition to strike against the government of Premiere Citoyen Jacques Necker, who had been duly elected by the National Assembly that year. PC Necker had been attempting to deal with the food shortages the incompetent government of his predecessor had caused when the Royalistes under Capet began their revolution. Capet incited crowd after crowd with speeches declaring that a monarchy would be able to feed them; with a king in command, the bureaucracy would flow smoothly. Capet, of course, wanted to be that king. Necker and other members of the National Assembly attempted to quell the royalist ravings of these lunatics – the French had been a free people since the death of Charlemagne, ruled by an assembly of nobles and commoners for almost a thousand years. They had fended off English, German, Spanish and Italian kings all that time, and Necker vowed, “We will never bow to a king, not even one from France itself.” Unfortunately for the PC, sentiment in the countryside was against him, and some of the nobles from the National Assembly were swayed to Louis Capet's side, especially after Capet's peasants captured the Paris Arsenal with the weapons they secured from the Bastille. French generals, promised nobility and wealth by Capet, turned on the National Assembly and joined forces with the Royalistes, sealing the fate of French freedom. In 1792, to seal his successful rebellion, Louis Capet abolished the National Assembly and crowned himself Louis Premier, King Louis the first.

in 1789, King Louis XVI of France is assassinated when he tries to appeal to the mob storming the Bastille fortress personally. Although his presence stuns the crowd long enough for him to start an impassioned plea for their loyalty, those unimpressed by the royal personage start a cry for his head before he can finish his speech, and his personal guard are overwhelmed by hundreds of revolutionaries. King Louis was crushed under the feet of the mob, cruelly beaten to death. His broken body was carried by the peasants all the way to Versailles, where they cast it in front of the gates. Queen Marie Antoinette fled to her native Austria immediately, seeking shelter in the court of her brother, Emperor Joseph II. Joseph called up the Austrian army and ordered a march on Paris to restore Marie to her throne and seize the “dastardly miscreants who have committed regicide,” but the Austrians faced a French army that was unwilling to see a restoration of the monarchy, and were pushed back across the borders. Marie Antoinette was forced to watch as her kingdom became a revolutionary democracy, ruled by the people rather than by nobles; as time went on, and she settled back into Austrian court life, she maintained that she preferred life as a noblewoman in Austria to ruling France, and indeed, most who knew her seemed to think it was true. France, for its part, little missed her. When her son, Louis Charles, tried to return to France to build popular support for his restoration to the throne in 1821, he was murdered by a mob just as his father had been, and since then, no one from that branch of the Bourbon monarchs has set foot in France.

in 1789, at the urging of his most trusted ministers, King Louis XVI of France forces the nobles of the country to share their vast stores of food with the peasantry and commoners in order to stave off the hunger that is sweeping the land. Louis' ministers had sensed an almost revolutionary fever catching fire in the land, and knew that if the King didn't act, there might be dire consequences. The Queen herself, Marie Antoinette, long known for her charity work, handed out food from the royal kitchens at the ancient fortress known as the Bastille, winning over many hearts that had been hardened to the French nobility. The day became an annual affair in French society, and on Bastille Day, all French nobles hold an open court to share their blessings with the common folk. This sort of generosity is credited with keeping the monarchy and aristocracy of France beloved by the nation into the present day.

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Charles The Last

The state of TIAH

March 27th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: I promised you a collection, and we are working on it – but real life is getting in the way. Fortunately, the worst part of the real-life problems we were having has been resolved. I have found new employment (yay!). We're going to aim for an April release for the collection, and will make more announcements about it as we draw closer to actually making that a reality. And, speaking of April, our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne, suggested that it was time for a contest, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). My lovely Co-Historian says that if we can get 30 entrants, we can offer an ultimate winner a complimentary TIAH mug, but we only have 5 entrants so far! Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline is March 29th.

in 1625, Charles the Last, the final British monarch, ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Charles was deposed by Oliver Cromwell's forces in 1646, and despite several attempts to restore the monarchy over the next couple of decades, the people of the UK were never to follow a king or queen again. Although Cromwell was followed by his son as Lord Protector of the Kingdom, Parliament began electing the Lord Protector in 1660 and the office was filled at the pleasure of the people from then on. Other monarchies in Europe were disturbed by the loss of their British cousin, and financed many of the pretenders who tried to raise armies to retake the crown, but none were successful. Indeed, the agitators were sometimes toppled by British counter-espionage tactics – the French king fell in 1684, the Russian tsar was ousted in 1692, and the Swedish monarchy was replaced by a democracy in 1704. The rest of Europe's non-democratic governments gave up after the brutal execution of Sweden's nobility, and pretenders to the British Crown disappeared in the 18th century.

Bill Clinton	In 1998 President Bill Clinton lifted the ban on heterosexuals in the military. There were rumours in Washington being led by Linda Tripp suggesting that Clinton himself was a heterosexual having engaged in an affair with a young lady named Monica Lewinsky. Clinton firmly denied the rumours, publicly stating 'I would ..
.. never have sex with that – or any other - woman'.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1945 Operation Starvation began on this day. The mission was begun at the insistence of Admiral Chester Nimitz who wanted his naval operations augmented by an extensive mining of Japan itself conducted by the air force. The aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways brought a longer-than expected and inglorious end ..	Chester Nimitz
.. to World War II. However, it did eliminate the need for the Invasion of Japan, known as Operation Downfall which was expected to create 1,200,000 casualties, with 267,000 fatalities. Various science fiction writers have laughably proposed various super-weapons that could have delivered a Japanese surrender in the summer of 1945, however those works have been dismissed as ridiculous. Imagine a post-war world ruled by the fear of super-weapons in the hands of politicians, one mistake would mean the apocalypse!
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Battle of Horse..	In 1814 In central Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson are defeated at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Red Sticks were a part of the Creek Indian tribe who in the opinion of some were suspected of being inspired by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. To obtain an accurate body count, Tennesseans cut the ..
.. tip of dead Creeks' noses off. A few soldiers cut long strips of skin from the Indians' bodies to make bridle reins for their horses. Jackson was profoundly effected by these actions, and made vigorous attempts during his Presidency to promote native American causes.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1854 United Kingdom declared war on Russia in the Crimean War. The two countries which had enjoyed a neutral relationship were at loggerheads for the next century and a half, as the European monarchies pursued a containment policy towards democracy.	Detail of Franz..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Victory In Egypt

The state of TIAH

August 30th, 2006

in 723 AUC, Egyptian ruler Cleopatra and her consort, Marcus Antonius of Rome, achieved a miraculous victory over the forces of Octavian of Rome, due to the intervention at the last moment of the Ethiopians. The Ethiopians allied themselves with Egypt, and with Antonius’ insurgent forces back in Rome, overthrew Octavian and his followers, and established Marcus Antonius as Antony, first Emperor of Rome. He was a mere puppet for Cleopatra and the Ethiopian king, though, and it was a mere 4 years before they cast him aside and ruled Rome openly. This caused another civil war, which left the Roman Empire shattered into 3 pieces; Cleopatra ruled the Central Empire, the Western Empire returned to republican rule, and the far east of the Empire went back to indigenous rule, rejecting Roman ways. Over time, the Central and Western Empires sought reconciliation, but the fundamental differences between monarchy and republic always stood in their way.

in 1918, Comrade Nikolai Illich Ulyanov, better known to the world as Lenin, is shot and killed by a fellow revolutionary as he speaks to workers in a factory in Moscow. With the death of the Bolshevik leader, chaos erupts among the revolutionary factions; Trotsky’s forces fought Stalin’s in the streets of Moscow as the summer ended, and Trotsky emerged victorious from the struggle as winter seized Russia. Stalin was forced into exile, while Trotsky tried to turn his starving, impoverished nation, beset on all sides by white governments eager to restore the monarchy, back into a world power. Although he was harsh at first, Trotsky truly believed in socialism, and enacted reforms across Russia that benefited the working class of the nation. He also believed that the “dictatorship of the proletariat” should fade away sooner rather than later, and once the civil unease was quelled in 1927, called for elections across the huge nation. People who had never voted for anything before in their lives now were able to choose the leaders of Russia, albeit from a somewhat limited slate of candidates. The Russian Soviet State’s first Prime Minister was Trotsky himself, who served 1 term of 5 years, and then was succeeded by a non-Bolshevik, Pyotr Nyetchev of the Socialist Reformation Union. Stalin even attempted to run for Prime Minister when he was pardoned from his exile in 1945, but his power base in Russia by that time had dwindled to nothing.

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Washington's Journey; Death Leaves Africa

April 16th, 2006

in 1521, German heretic Martin Luther is invited to repudiate his anti-Church teachings at the Diet of Worms, Germany. After the persuasive arguments by the Church fathers in this setting, Luther recants his teachings, saying, “Here I stand, repentant. I cannot do otherwise.”

in 1789, George Washington leaves his home of Mt. Vernon, Virginia, to be inaugurated into his new office of President of the United States in New York City. Washington had expressed a desire to remain in retirement due to his advanced age of 57, which proved somewhat prophetic; he caught pneumonia on the journey, and died mere days after his inauguration. This led to the tradition of electing much younger men to the presidency in the future.

in 1866, the Russian government fell when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by Dmitry Karakozov in St. Petersburg. The nobles wanted to crown the Tsar’s son Alexander, but the peasantry rose up and began demanding American-style democracy. After a prolonged struggle, the Tsar was reduced to a ceremonial position, and Russia became a constitutional monarchy modeled along English lines in 1874.

in 1889, one of the silent era’s greatest directors, Charles Chaplin, was born in London, England. After a brief career in comedic shorts, Chaplin moved behind the camera in 1916 with his film The Floorwalker. He went on to direct such classics as the Oscar-winning Wings and Rope. Over his 50-year career, he garnered 3 Academy awards for directing and 1 for producing.

in 1917, the American-supported revolutionary known as Lenin sneaks back into Russia to foment communist reform in the monarchy. He fails to achieve his goal, in spite of years of support by the communist American government.

in 1947, the heroic crew of the French ship Grandcamp, battling a fire on board their ship, sailed it out of the Texas City harbor they had been docked in before their cargo of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded. The ship was utterly destroyed, but they saved the harbor.

in 1952, Velma Porter tells Mikhail von Heflin that she’s had enough of Africa, and the two of them head to Cairo to secure passage back to America. Miss Porter has made a peg leg for herself, but von Heflin thinks he can help her regain her foot, lost in the battle with his ancestor. He begins meditating on the subject.

in 4668, a mated pair of sloths arrive in Beijing as a gift from the Incan people to the Chinese Emperor. The exotic creatures spark an interest in eastern animals across the empire, building a healthy trade between the eastern and western worlds.

in 1997, the Battle of Cheyenne, the last front of the war in America, begins as allied troops batter at President Shephard’s last loyal troops surrounding Norad in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Shephard vows to fight until the last man; allies are attempting to find and disable all the nuclear weapons still at his command in order to forestall a nuclear disaster.

Timelines in today's post: the Chinese Empire, von Heflin, Communist America and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect The Floorwalker to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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Wells Born In England; Ford Seized By Government

September 21st, 2005

in 1348, the Jewish population of Zurich is accused of poisoning the town’s wells. In 1921, Astrid Pflaume uses this legend to terrorize the Swiss population into surrender to her Greater Zionist Resistance. The ease with which she bullies these fellow “Aryans” is one of many events that causes the neo-Nazi time traveler to switch her allegiance to those she leads, but has vowed to destroy.

in 1792, the French Revolution reaches a crossroads as the Revolutionary Council is deadlocked on abolishing the monarchy. King Louis XVI uses this confusion to insert himself as a compromise between the nobles who want to retain a monarchy and the commoners who want to abolish the aristocracy altogether; walking this tightrope, he manages to lead France through the chaos of the revolution, displaying diplomatic talents no one ever expected him to have.

in 1823, the angel Moroni appears to a farmer in America and reveals the location of golden tablets that reveal a secret history of the continent, and its connection to God’s favored people of Israel. This farmer, John Brown of Ohio, founded the Church of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons. The Mormons aided many blacks to escape slavery in the dark days before the civil war, and stood strong for their civil rights after.

in 1866, Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, England. Wells is most famous for his creation of the role-playing game genre with his famous game Little Warriors. On the side, Wells also wrote novels.

in 1904, Himmahtooyahlatkekt, the first Nez Pierce elected to Congress, dies in Washington, D.C. The great leader often attributed his wisdom in leadership to the lessons he learned from his ancestors; “Our fathers gave us many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good. They told us to treat all people as they treated us; that we should never be the first to break a bargain; that is was a disgrace to tell a lie; that we should speak only the truth; that it was a shame for one man to take from another his wife or his property without paying for it.” His leadership was responsible for the lack of reservations in Washington State, and the more equitable blending of Native Americans in with the general population there.

in 1942, the Ford Motor Corporation is seized by the U.S. government because of its pro-Nazi activities. The founder of the company, Henry Ford, had long been suspected of Nazi ties after being favorably mentioned by Hitler in Mein Kampf, and the company newsletter had gone so far as to publish the anti-semitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The workers at the company weren’t made idle – Ford’s assets were used to build the U.S. war machine.

in 1983, a young paperboy in Bellevue, Nebraska stumbles back into town after having been abducted and tortured by a strange man. He is able to describe John Joubert, a military radar technician, to the police, who arrest Joubert just as another boy’s body is found in the woods. The young man who escaped Joubert is given a medal by President Reagan for his heroism.

in 4697, Captain Wu reports to the Emperor and the Imperial Council and formally reports that Yang Gao has been overrun by the Y’T’T’li. Emperor Xiao Yang tells Wu that he has done well, and promotes him to Admiral. “You must now devise a way to protect us from this enemy, Admiral Wu,” Xiao tells his officer. Wu draws on the top minds of the empire to study the information about the Y’T’T’li he has brought back.

in 2002, the Air Force command at Andrews wants to get rid of its two visitors, but is told to keep them there by the White House. All that they seem able to do is keep track of where the two “men” visit on their excursions through the base’s classified areas.

in 2004, after noting a few Elder power signatures still on earth, the ELS-1 blasts them into goo with its weapon. The Elders who have evacuated the planet protest mildly, but seemingly take no further action. The ELS-2, which is monitoring the inner solar, detects the approach of several Elder power signatures and alerts the ELS-1.


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, 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!

Monarchy Ends In France; Elvis Dies

May 15th, 2005

in 1614, monarchy in France ended as King Louis XIII was overthrown by a large band of his noblemen. Because of internal tensions among them, none were able to claim the crown for themselves, so they turned France into an oligarchy ruled by the Council of 10 from Paris.

in 1756, the 7 Year War began between England and France. Begun by minor French expansion in the Ohio River Valley, it gave the French an excuse to conduct wider war against English possessions in North America. By the end of the war, they had driven the Brits out of Canada and reduced the middle colonies to Virginia and Carolina.

in 4547, Phra Chomklao Chaoyuhua is named governor of Siam by Emperor Min-Yuan. It is a decision he will regret, as Governor Phra will lead the Siamese in the rebellion against him in 4561.

in 1856, Scientific Romanticist Lyman F. Baum was born in Chittenango, New York. He thrilled audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with his tales of emerald cities, islands in the sky and men made of tin; his books captivated America and owned the top spots on the bestseller lists upon publication.

in 1910, Q’Barian representatives come back to the Barnard’s Star talks. They are unwilling to leave the Mlosh homeworld, but are more than ready to give in to every other Jovian demand. The new leadership of the Q’Bar is attempting to consolidate its power, and doesn’t want to be fighting the Jovians as well as Q’B’Ton’ra’s supporters.

in 1948, soldiers of the German Reich began a multi-pronged attack on Syria, Egypt and Lebanon after accusations that they had been acting as a staging ground for attacks from the Greater Zionist Resistance. The G.Z.R. put all of the resources it could into defending these Arabic nations, but they were unable to withstand the German onslaught.

in 1957, Elvis Presley choked to death while traveling in Los Angeles, California. The autopsy showed that a cap on one of his teeth had come loose and blocked his airway; his teeny-bopper fans mourned him as if a god, and not a man, had died.

in 1972, a loyal but overzealous comrade shot reactionary firebrand George Wallace as he campaigned in the Alabama Soviet for the governorship. Although he stood no chance of winning, Comrade Arthur Bremer didn’t want to risk it, and shot Wallace through the neck and head, killing him.


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Diet Of Worms; Battle Of Cheyenne

April 16th, 2005

in 1521, German heretic Martin Luther is invited to repudiate his anti-Church teachings at the Diet of Worms, Germany. After the persuasive arguments by the Church fathers in this setting, Luther recants his teachings, saying, “Here I stand, repentant. I cannot do otherwise.”

in 1866, the Russian government fell when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by Dmitrii Karakozov in St. Petersburg. The nobles wanted to crown the Tsar’s son Alexander, but the peasantry rose up and began demanding American-style democracy. After a prolonged struggle, the Tsar was reduced to a ceremonial position, and Russia became a constitutional monarchy modeled along English lines in 1874.

in 1889, one of the silent era’s greatest directors, Charles Chaplin, was born in London, England. After a brief career in comedic shorts, Chaplin moved behind the camera in 1916 with his film The Floorwalker. He went on to direct such classics as the Oscar-winning Wings and Rope. Over his 50-year career, he garnered 3 Academy awards for directing and 1 for producing.

in 1917, the American-supported revolutionary known as Lenin sneaks back into Russia to foment communist reform in the monarchy. He fails to achieve his goal, in spite of years of support by the communist American government.

in 1947, the heroic crew of the French ship Grandchamps, battling a fire on board their ship, sailed it out of the Texas City harbor they had been docked in before their cargo of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded. The ship was utterly destroyed, but they saved the harbor.

in 1952, Velma Porter tells Mikhail von Heflin that she’s had enough of Africa, and the two of them head to Cairo to secure passage back to America. Miss Porter has made a peg leg for herself, but von Heflin thinks he can help her regain her foot, lost in the battle with his ancestor. He begins meditating on the subject.

in 4668, a mated pair of sloths arrive in Beijing as a gift from the Incan people to the Chinese Emperor. The exotic creatures spark an interest in eastern animals across the empire, building a healthy trade between the eastern and western worlds.

in 1997, the Battle of Cheyenne, the last front of the war in America, begins as allied troops batter at President Shephard’s last loyal troops surrounding Norad in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Shephard vows to fight until the last man; allies are attempting to find and disable all the nuclear weapons still at his command in order to forestall a nuclear disaster.


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Monarchy In France Destroyed; Elvis Chokes

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: we have our second anniversary coming up on May 27th, and we would like to have another contest. For our second anniversary, send us up to three of your own alternate histories, and we will publish the best - no limit on how many will end up on the final page! We would like to see as many of you enter this as possible, so please - think 'em up, write 'em down, and send 'em on to us at rat4cat@gmail.com! Help us celebrate our 2nd year of existence in style! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us! SEAN - EMAIL - NOW!

May 15th, 2006

in 1614, monarchy in France ended as King Louis XIII was overthrown by a large band of his noblemen. Because of internal tensions among them, none were able to claim the crown for themselves, so they turned France into an oligarchy ruled by the Council of 10 from Paris. This system inspired other nobles across the continent to demand more power for themselves, and the monarchies became mere shadows of their former glory.

in 1756, the 7 Year War began between England and France. Begun by minor French expansion in the Ohio River Valley, it gave the French an excuse to conduct wider war against English possessions in North America. By the end of the war, they had driven the Brits out of Canada and reduced the middle colonies to Virginia and Carolina.

in 4547, Phra Chomklao Chaoyuhua is named governor of Siam by Emperor Min-Yuan. It is a decision he will regret, as Governor Phra will lead the Siamese in the rebellion against him in 4561. Governor Phra quickly surrendered, but the rebellion became something that Min-Yuan regretted for the rest of his life.

in 1856, Scientific Romanticist Lyman F. Baum was born in Chittenango, New York. He thrilled audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with his tales of emerald cities, islands in the sky and men made of tin; his books captivated America and owned the top spots on the bestseller lists upon publication.

in 1910, Q’Barian representatives come back to the Barnard’s Star talks. They are unwilling to leave the Mlosh homeworld, but are more than ready to give in to every other Jovian demand. The new leadership of the Q’Bar is attempting to consolidate its power, and doesn’t want to be fighting the Jovians as well as Q’B’Ton’ra’s supporters.

in 1942, Hollywood B-lister Ronald Reagan applies to be transferred to an active unit of the Army Air Corps, rather than the cavalry division he had originally been assigned to. He becomes one of many stars who ends up fighting overseas, and becomes a tail-gunner on a B-29 over Europe. The horrors of war make him a lifelong pacifist, and he enters politics in an effort to keep America from ever going to war again.

in 1948, soldiers of the German Reich began a multi-pronged attack on Syria, Egypt and Lebanon after accusations that they had been acting as a staging ground for attacks from the Greater Zionist Resistance. The G.Z.R. put all of the resources it could into defending these Arabic nations, but they were unable to withstand the German onslaught.

in 1957, Elvis Presley choked to death while traveling in Los Angeles, California. The autopsy showed that a cap on one of his teeth had come loose and blocked his airway; his teeny-bopper fans mourned him as if a god, and not a man, had died. The legend surrounding the rocker became larger than his limited repertoire could ever have built if he had lived.

in 1972, a loyal but overzealous comrade shot reactionary firebrand George Wallace as he campaigned in the Alabama Soviet for the governorship. Although Wallace stood no chance of winning, Comrade Arthur Bremer didn’t want to risk it, and shot Wallace through the neck and head, killing him. A sympathetic jury found Comrade Bremer incompetent to stand trial, and the People's Judge sentenced him to a mere 5 years in a psychiatric ward.

in 2005, Debra Morris, Chelsea Perkins and Patience Redding steal the ingredients they need in order to perform the spell that will take them back in time. It's risky roaming about London, because even though witches are nominally in charge, they are not liked by the general populace. As the clock strikes midnight, they begin their spell, and feel time warping around them.

Timelines in today's post: the Chinese Empire, the Mlosh, the GZR, the Chelsea Perkins timeline and Communist America.

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect Ronald Reagan to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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Moving Forward

Sonnengewehr	In 1969, former Nazi Rocket Scientist Werner von Braun informed US President Richard M Nixon that trials for the Sun Gun project would proceed during the late summer. Founding father of rocketry and astronautics Hermann Oberth had conceived the design originally in his 1929 book Wege zur Raumschiffahrt, or 'Ways to Spaceflight'. The Sonnengewehr, or Sun Gun project was conducted by 150 engineers and physicists in Hillersleben, Germany during World War II. The orbital weapon took a further thirty years to develop, mostly by members of the same team who became naturalised Americans. Times had changed, and whilst the Nazi Regime had entered history, Communists were still very much in need of the fiery punishment designed for the enemies of the Third Reich.
Sun Gun Project

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Iconic Leader	In 2009, TV networks ran Decisive Moments in Black History. The narrow escape from assassins of the iconic President of Nigeria, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed on February 13, 1976 was unquestionably a tipping point. The fourth President frustrated an abortive coup attempt when his car was ambushed in traffic in Lagos. He had already taken the early steps to lift Nigeria out of the abyss it was threatening to descend into.
Murtala Mohammed

Top federal and state officials were removed to break links with the Gowon regime and to restore public confidence in the federal government. More than 10,000 public officials and employees were dismissed without benefits, on account of age, health, incompetence, or malpractice. The purge affected the civil service, judiciary, police and armed forces, diplomatic service, public corporations, and universities. Some officials were brought to trial on charges of corruption. He also began the demobilization of 100,000 troops from the swollen ranks of the armed forces. Matters moved forward with apace after the failed coup. After all, Nigeria experienced the same level of literacy and per capita income as Malaysia in 1960, a record it has sustained to this day to the fierce joy of the diaspora.

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In 1955, Israel acquired half of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the one purportedly written by Jesus himself, which began, 'In the name of the most holy, we renounce all the faiths of man, because the one true God cannot be contained within the pages of a book.' Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and various Animist faiths met secretly in Jerusalem to destroy this tract in particular.

	In 1961, officials in the Congolese province of Katanga declared former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba dead. Within a week it became apparent Patrice Lumumba and his ministers had been killed on 18 January (the day they were moved to Katanga) with the complicity of Belgian and American intelligence services.
Patrice Lumumba

This revelation precipitated the immediate withdrawal of UN troops from Congo, the resignation of Mr Hammerskjold and trials for President Tshombe and General Mobutu. And not so far away in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia a grim decision to go it alone taken by a Brave War Hero who had never run away from anything in his whole life.

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In 2038, malfunctioning UNIX computers suffered a little known date change problem as January 19, 2038 was truncated to 13th February 1901. Numerous programming failures resulted in channel cross overs occurring as havoc strikes the networks. Light entertainment channels show both Zombie and adult movies, at times so confusingly it was difficult to tell the difference. A post mortem showed that surprisingly few viewers changed the channel and as a result, cross genre channels were rapidly introduced.

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In 1971, backed by American air and artillery support, troops Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) invade Laos.

After many years of being on the defensive, ARVN forces were keen to prove themselves, fast becoming the regional superpower by the end of the decade.

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In 1542, Pope Henry VIII executed a fifth consort for heresy. In spite of the rather horrendous ends met by his other consorts, women across Christendom still clamored to join themselves to the leader of the Holy British Empire, and Sister Catherine Parr, author of the devotional tracks Prayers and Meditations and Lamentations of a Sinner, became the Papal Consort in 1543.

In 1689, a mere generation removed from the last Parliamentary-led revolution, William of Orange and his wife Mary, King James II's daughter, are invited to replaced Mary's father by his opposition in the Parliament. Unfortunately for the Parliament, the royal couple brought 15,000 soldiers with them, and refused to become the toothless monarchs that were envisioned in their invitation. The war that followed shattered the institution of the monarchy as Parliament won the hard-fought struggle and declared Great Britain a republic and 'a kingdom no more,' in 1695.

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In 1939, director George Cukor was released from the production of Gone With The Wind being filmed by David O. Selznick and starring Clark Gable. Both Gable and Selznick had difficulties with Cukor, but he turned out to be the only one willing to take on the huge project. The film fell apart and production was abandoned, financially ruining Selznick's studio. To add insult to injury, Cukor won the Academy Award for direction that year for The Women, the picture he went on to direct after leaving GWTW.

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In 1892, surrealist Grant Wood was born in Anamosa, Iowa. Although his early work was fairly conventional, he entered the company of the surrealists when he moved to New York in 1928, and his mishmash of midwestern America with strange shapes and creations sprung from his imagination captured the attention of the world. His most famous piece, American Gothic, depicting a devil, complete with pitchfork, alongside a frumpy Iowa farmwoman, has been parodied so many times that people who have never seen the original recognize the tableau instantly.

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In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt of the U.S. delivered his most influential speech, decrying the 'race problem' in America. He announced that his Justice Department would immediately begin prosecuting lynchings, and pushed for law which guaranteed the rights of minorities in the country. The flabbergasted elite of the New York Republican Club, where he delivered the speech, denounced Roosevelt as a 'dangerous radical' for the speech, but later generations saw him as a visionary.

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In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, recovering from the poison that rival Konstantin Chernenko had slipped him, orders a purge of all the Brezhnevians within the Kremlin, beginning with Chernenko. Although the power struggle results in a brief revolt against his authority, Andropov is ultimately successful, and his reform policies help the Soviet Union integrate its economy more effectively into the growing global marketplace. Andropov is often hailed as the man who saved the Soviet Union from a financial apocalypse.

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American	In 1991, BBC News reported: US bombers strike civilians in Baghdad - 'Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have been killed and wounded in Baghdad by American bombers. Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz said: 'This was a criminal, pre-meditated, planned attack against civilians.' Local reports say two laser-guided precision bombs hit an air-raid shelter in the middle class district of Amiriya, five miles from the centre of the Iraqi capital.
Bombers

So far 235 bodies have been recovered, 12 hours after the attacks at 0445 GMT and 0450 GMT. Continuing fires and intense heat in the bunker complex - which includes a school, mosque and supermarket - have hampered rescue efforts and 300 people are still thought to be trapped inside. The White House said that civilian bombing had brought Hitler's Germany to its knees, and there was no better way to repeat the process with Saddam Hussein's tyranny in Iraq.

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In 1988, the exiled British Royal Family open the XV Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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In 1882, the Social-Democratic Union, a labor organization inspired by and partially funded by the Communist and Socialist parties in America, is organized in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The reactionaries in that monarchy quickly attack the fledgling labor movement, hoping to keep their immoral grasp on power a little longer.