alternatehistory.com

Let’s list in this thread the alternate lives and political careers of people who never become greatly involved in politics or government in OTL.

I'll start first

H.G. Wells

The political career of Herbert George Wells took off during the 1922 general election. During that year he ran as a Labor Party candidate for the LondonUniversity after the after the death of his friend W. H. R. Rivers. Though Wells was not the most popular to win the position of Parliament Member for his constituency the death of the favorite Sir Sydney Russell-Wells due to heart failure lead to Wells receiving the votes of many of his followers and thus winning the position at 51.1%. From then on he served as a Member of Parliament until his death in 1946. During that time he advocated labor reforms and supported socialist ideals. Often he would draw attention to the lower classes and the laborers of Britain who he saw as receiving little recognition and whom he also referred to as "Britain's Invisible Men".

Though a pacifist he encoureged the advancment of Britians military technology during WW2 and advocated funding for experimental weaponry.

During the 20s and 30s he advocated the further expansion of the British Empire which he believed would help lead to a utopian world state and spoke ardently against releasing any British colonies from British control. This also lead to his outspokenness against the Zionist movement which challenged the collective solidarity he desired in his vision of a world state and instead supported the assimilation of Jewish people. He also supported the practice of eugenics and motions to make a law supporting the sterilization those deemed mentally ill.

Many of his opinions changed though during and after the events of WW2. Wells came to regret his attitudes to the Jews as he became more aware of the extent of the Nazi atrocities and several times publicly apologized for his past statements against them. He also created a movement to repeal the legality of practicing eugenics in the United Kingdom but failed to do so before dieing which lead to eugenic policies being practiced within the UK until the 1960s.

The last year of his life was filled with stress as he battled with opponents who wished to make war against the USSR. Wells desired to maintain peaceful relations with the country even though he judged Stalin's rule to be far too rigid, restrictive of independent thought, and blinkered to lead toward the Cosmopolis he hoped for. Before dieing of heart failure in March 1946 Wells made a personal request for his epitaph which now reads "I know, you told me so. You were right and I was the fool." Whether or not this was meant as a message for a singe individual is unknown.


H. G. Wells in 1943
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