Alternate Obituaries

Here is an idea I had this morning. In this tread, we write Obituaries for Famous Historical Figures and Celebraties from different Alternate Histories. To keep things simple, we should probably limit this to the Post-1900-Era. I'll start with an example...

Ronald W. Reagan
1911-2005
Ronald Reagan will always be more famous as a politician than he was as an actor. If you were to ask someone to name one of his films, they would probably come up blank, except for the clut classic, Bonzo the Chimp.Reagan achieved more success on the stage of politics, a career which began in 1964, when he gave a well-received speech for Goldwater's Presidential champaign for President. This caught the eye of many, and it launched Reagan into politics, who would go on to serve as the Governor of California. many speculated that Reagan would make a run for the Presidency someday, but when the time came in 1980, he was deemed to old in the eyes of voters.He lost a close race to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Regardless, Reagan would remain popular with many Republicans, and he played a key role in getting Howard Baker into the White House in 1984. DUring the 90's, Reagan began to suffer from alzhiemer's disease, and retreated away from public life. He died late in the afternoon this passing Saturday. He leaves behind his wife Nancy, and their children.

So, any takers? :)
 
Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand: 18 December 1863 - 29 June 1914

Although the heir presumptive to the Austrian throne and very popular in his day, his life shall always be overshadowed by his final days.

On 28 June, Franz Ferdinand survived an attempt on his life by the Serbian radical group the Black Hand. The top of his right shoulder, just next to the neck, was grazed by Gavrilo Princip who was later imprisoned for 20 years. This action would spark minor skirmishes in the Balkans.

However, the following day, Archduke Ferdinand was eating a comfort food of Germknödel when his wound began to spasm and he began to choke on the fluffy dough. His staff was unable to dislodge the mushy treat in time to save his life.

Who knows how history would have unraveled if such a improbable event did not happen.
 
Hubert H. Humphrey

May 27, 1911- June 2, 1968

Hubert Humphrey will always be remembered as the man whose address to the 1948 Democratic National Convention spurred a Dixiecrat walkout and helped Harry Truman win a second term as President. But in 1968, as Lyndon Johnson's Vice President, his race against Senators Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy would come to an abrupt end on June 2. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian drifter angry at Humphrey's pro-Israel speech in Chicago the previous week, approached Humphrey at a Minneapolis rally and shot him at close range with a .22 pistol. Humphrey died on the scene and his funeral was attended by over 80,000 people on June 4th.
 
Abraham Lincoln

June 13, 1876, Springfield, Illinois

Mr. Abraham Lincoln, former President of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. Mr. Lincoln passed away yesterday after a brief illness, surrounded by his family. Mr. Lincoln, a successful railroad lawyer and greatest promoter of the soon-to-be-constructed rail connection to California had been in the forefront of the development of the rail industry and had at his death one of the greatest fortunes in Illinois.

A politician in his younger years, Lincoln had come within a few votes of defeating William H. Seward for the Republican nomination for President in 1860, but lost his chance when his rivals Salmon Chase and Simon Cameron threw their support to Seward on the second ballot.

In his last years, in spite of failing health, Mr.Lincon spent considerable time in an effort to improve commercial relations with the government in Richmond, meeting several times in recent years with President Longstreet. He is survived by his wife Mary, and his sons Robert and Tad.
 
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
30th November 1874 - 11th December 1899

It is with great regret that Lord Randolph Churchill must inform of the death of his eldest son, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill whilst detained in Pretoria. It is believed that he was kidnapped by Dutch Boer seperatists whilst engaged as a correspondent for the Morning Post. It is understood that prior to the incident, he rendered service under arms to General Sir Redvers Buller and was to be commended for his courage and audacity in the face of adverse conditions and severe enemy action.
With this regretful announcement, it is confirmed that Sir John Strange Spencer Churchill is now the rightful heir to the Duchy of Marlborough.
 
Timothy Leary, 45; Was Army Scientist
By The New York Times
Published: June 1, 1966

WASHINGTON, May 30 — Timothy Francis Leary, a psychologist and chief scientist for the Army Special Operations Division, died of a heart attack on March 28 at Ft. Detrick, Md. He was 45.

Lt. Col. Leary was a scientist in the Army for 21 years. He graduated the U.S. Military Academy in 1944. He received his master's degree at Washington State University in 1948, and his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. He specialized in psychology and psychedelic drug research and worked as a troubleshooter on biological warfare projects.

He is survived by two children, Susan and Jack.
 
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Timothy Leary, 45; Was Army Scientist
By The New York Times
Published: June 1, 1966

WASHINGTON, May 30 — Timothy Francis Leary, a psychologist and chief scientist for the Army Special Operations Division, died of a heart attack on March 28 at Ft. Detrick, Md. He was 45.

Lt. Col. Leary was a scientist in the Army for 41 years. He graduated the U.S. Military Academy in 1944. He received his master's degree at Washington State University in 1948, and his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. He specialized in psychology and psychedelic drug research and worked as a troubleshooter on biological warfare projects.

He is survived by two children, Susan and Jack.
Wow, that's quite an achievement, becoming a working scientist from the age of four.
 
Ayn Rand Born: Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum
February 2 1905-March 6, 1982

famed Russian Communist and political prisoner. Rand become active in the Communist underground in the Russian Empire during the 1920s-1930s, she earned the nick-name the Mad Red Bomber by Tsarist law enforcement. She began to rise through the ranks of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in the 1940s becoming the spokes person for the party in 1946. She was elected Party Chair in 1953. Under her leadership the Communist underground became more violent and widespread. In 1965 (on her birthday) Rand was captured by Tsarist Police, after a 3 hour fire fight that left her 5 bodyguards and leaving Rand badly injured. While confined in the Moscow Hospital, Rand wrote one of her greatest works, The Letter from the Moscow Hospital. For the rest of her Life Rand was kept in different jails by the Russian Government. A number of letters and works by Rand were smuggled out to the free world. despite being kept in jail for 17 years Rand remained party leader till the day she died. In the late 70s till her death she became a symbol of political resistance, Free Ayn groups become popular in High schools and Colleges and among Hollywood stars.
 
Neil Kinnock (28 March 1942 – 15 September 2013) died yesterday, it has been announced. The former President passed away peacefully in his sleep after a two year struggle with cancer.

Assured his place in the history books as the man who made 'New Labour' possible, Kinnock seemed ready to retire from public life after the surprise victory of John Major in 1992. But it was in 1998 that, in the wake of the abolition of the monarchy triggered by the Diana Crisis, he was approached by Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair (then Prime Minister) and offered the Labour candidacy for the first ever British Presidential Elections in 1999. His Tory opponent Chris Patten was convincingly defeated thanks to Labour's huge popularity at the time, and Kinnock soon settled into the highly ceremonial role that what had been termed 'the Irish-model Presidency' became. It was he who led Britain's tributes to the victims of the September 2001 terrorist attacks and he who Britons rallied around after our own brush with terrorism in 2005. After serving two immensely successful five-year-terms, Kinnock stepped down in 2009, with his endorsement doing little good for the flagging Labour candidate, Margaret Beckett, defeated as she was by none other than John Major.

The man credited with the first steps towards New Labour will also, ironically, enter the history books as the man who undermined its golden boy. Tony Blair's personal popularity took a number of hits on controversial policies over the years - not least the Iraq War - and in matters where he would have sought to claim personal credit on behalf of the nation, the ever-present Kinnock would often steal the show. Pushed from office less than a year after the 2005 election, Blair gave way to Gordon Brown, who in turn lost the 2010 election to David Cameron and ended 13 years of Labour politicians in either constitutional high office of our Republic.

President Cable led tributes to Kinnock yesterday from the steps of Britain House, calling him 'a pioneer to a whole generation, and one of the most resilient politicians of our time'. President-elect Farage joined the tributes, saying that while he and Kinnock had disagreed on 'the Europe question', he had always found him a 'thoroughly decent, committed and respectable politician whose first thought was always the people of this great country'. From abroad, former Vice President Biden led American tributes to 'one of my finest speechwriters' - a joking throwback to the controversy that surrounded Biden's plagiarism from Kinnock's own speeches.

He leaves behind his wife, Glenys, his daughter, Rachel and his son, Stephen, who is married to the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. He will be missed most of all, said Glenys yesterday, by his four grandchildren.
 
Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand: 18 December 1863 - 29 June 1914

Although the heir presumptive to the Austrian throne and very popular in his day, his life shall always be overshadowed by his final days.

On 28 June, Franz Ferdinand survived an attempt on his life by the Serbian radical group the Black Hand. The top of his right shoulder, just next to the neck, was grazed by Gavrilo Princip who was later imprisoned for 20 years. This action would spark minor skirmishes in the Balkans.

However, the following day, Archduke Ferdinand was eating a comfort food of Germknödel when his wound began to spasm and he began to choke on the fluffy dough. His staff was unable to dislodge the mushy treat in time to save his life.

Who knows how history would have unraveled if such a improbable event did not happen.

I have to say, 'fluffy dough' and 'mushy treat' almost made me choke on my own laughter. True genius, sir, simply hilarious.
 
Robert Kennedy (November 20, 1925- July 19, 2022) died yesterday, CNN announced. The former President and Chief Justice passed away in his sleep of natural causes at the age of 97.

Kennedy first rose to prominence as the chief counsel to the McLellan Committee in the 1950s, and in 1961 was appointed by his brother John as Attorney General. His tenure was widely praised as one of the foremost in American history, having largely focused on organized crime and civil rights. After John Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Robert Kennedy left Lyndon Johnson's Cabinet in 1964 to run for the US Senate in New York, overwhelmingly defeating G.O.P. incumbent Kenneth Keating in November.

R.F.K. was one of the Democratic Party's most high-profile senators and though rarely successful as a legislator was one of the leading advocates of civil rights and on behalf of what he often referred to as "the forgotten Americans." By 1966 he had turned against US involvement in the Vietnam War and in 1968 successfully challenged Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomiantion. Despite an assassination attempt in California, Kennedy went on to defeat Richard Nixon in November by one of the narrowest margins in American history and became President in January 1969.

Kennedy's two terms were eventful on both the foreign and domestic fronts, but he was widely credited for passing universal healthcare, known as "Bluecare" in 1971, free trade with Canada and Great Britain in 1976, opening diplomatic relations with China in 1972 and his welfare reform bill of 1969. Re-elected by the largest popular vote margin in American history in November 1972, Kennedy devoted much of his second term to foreign affairs, involving himself in the Abu Dhabi Accords of 1975, which instituted a military truce between Israel and Egypt that lasted, with only a brief interruption in 1981-2, to this day. He left office in January 1977 succeeded by Ronald Reagan, still immensely popular, having been credited with reforming the Democratic Party through the Democratic Federalist Council (DFC) that today promotes what Kennedy often called "Market Federalism" in his campaign addresses.

Robert Kennedy remained out of the public spotlight for the next four years in private life, writing his memoir Pursuit of Justice until President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Supreme Court in October 1981. Kennedy's quarter-century long tenure on the court was marked by being described as the swing vote, usually voting with the court conservatives on sociocultural questions and siding with the court liberals on civil rights issues. In November 1986 President Lloyd Bentsen nominated Kennedy for the Chief Justice position, to which he was confirmed in January 1987. For the next eighteen years Kennedy's Court would be described as the "watchdog" court for its actions on campaign finance and tort reform. Most famously, in July 1993 Kennedy himself wrote the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision that overturned Roe and returned abortion to state control. In September 2000 the Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, though Justice Scalia, not Kennedy, wrote the majority opinion, with which Kennedy concurred, in that case. Retiring from the Supreme Court at the age of 79 in June 2005, he received his second Presidential Medal of Freedom (the first having been awarded by Ronald Reagan in 1982) from President McCain. For the last eighteen years of his life Kennedy's quiet life in Hyannis, Mass. was "marked with tragedy": his wife Ethel, son Joe II and daughter Kathleen all predeceased him.

He leaves behind 8 of his 11 children, 42 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and assorted descendants.
 
Most famously, in July 1993 Kennedy himself wrote the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision that overturned Roe and returned abortion to state control. In September 2000 the Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, though Justice Scalia, not Kennedy, wrote the majority opinion, with which Kennedy concurred

what a very very sad world you've made :(
 
Anne Miller (June 12, 1929-August 28, 2004)

Anne Miller, the noted journalist, author, and Holocaust survivor, died this past Saturday at the age of 75. Born Annelies Frank in Weimar Germany, Miller survived the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp as a teenaged girl. Finding herself the only surviving member of her family after the end of the Second World War, Miller emigrated to the New York City. Eventually, she achieved her dream of becoming a journalist, writing for Newsweek and eventually becoming its editor. She is perhaps best known for her reporting on the 1968 presidential election, with her expose on corruption within Lyndon Johnson's campaign being credited with throwing the close election to then-Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge. Her memoirs, which included the diary she kept while in hiding during Hitler's reign, were published in 1992, and continue to top bestseller lists today. Miller was interred alongside her husband, who died in 1998, and is survived by her three children and five grandchildren.
 

pnyckqx

Banned
Here is an idea I had this morning. In this tread, we write Obituaries for Famous Historical Figures and Celebraties from different Alternate Histories. To keep things simple, we should probably limit this to the Post-1900-Era. I'll start with an example...

Ronald W. Reagan
1911-2005
Ronald Reagan will always be more famous as a politician than he was as an actor. If you were to ask someone to name one of his films, they would probably come up blank, except for the clut classic, Bonzo the Chimp.Reagan achieved more success on the stage of politics, a career which began in 1964, when he gave a well-received speech for Goldwater's Presidential champaign for President. This caught the eye of many, and it launched Reagan into politics, who would go on to serve as the Governor of California. many speculated that Reagan would make a run for the Presidency someday, but when the time came in 1980, he was deemed to old in the eyes of voters.He lost a close race to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Regardless, Reagan would remain popular with many Republicans, and he played a key role in getting Howard Baker into the White House in 1984. DUring the 90's, Reagan began to suffer from alzhiemer's disease, and retreated away from public life. He died late in the afternoon this passing Saturday. He leaves behind his wife Nancy, and their children.

So, any takers? :)
Two minor nit-picks.

The name of the movie was Bedtime for Bonzo

The Obit over looks Reagan's time as a spokesman for GE, that gave him a large political audience.
 
blackangel: RFK was a sociocultural conservative IOTL. Not by 1960s standards of civil rights but by 2010 standards of "family values" the answer is a firm yes. Traditional Catholic stances on all sociocultural issues, but unusually for Catholic politicians that includes an anti-death penalty stance. I won't mention his views on homosexuality, because Ian would kick me if I posted the verbatim quotes. Much closer to Scalia's view than Dick Cheney's, and that's all I'll say on the matter.
 
William Randolph Hearst April 29th 1863-August 14th 1951

Hearst, President from 1913 to 1921 and then 1941-1949, passed away at age 88, from natural causes. Hearst had risen from an improvished childhood to build a multi-media empire, cultivate and preserve the arts, reform the city of New York as Mayor, and then New York state as Governor and House Representative, before become the 28th President in the three way election of 1912. Hearst was severely criticized by war hawks and anglophiles during the Great European war; although he and Secretary of State Woodrow Wilson were wildly praised for joining with Spain and China to arbitrate an end to the conflict that threatened to extinguish life in the old world. However, the booming welfare of the Hearst papers (which legally did not belong to the President, but instead the First Lady and then his eldest child), Hearst's (alleged) support of the Germans and the Irish againt the entente, and his marital estrangement and infidelity doomed his hope for a third term.

But Hearst kept his political heart beating, condemning Prohibition and narcotics legalization (long thought to be a spite against the former President), and controlling the Democratic party, playing a huge part in bringing Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the White House.

in 1934, President Roosevelt sent his mentor to Germany as an official envoy, but also to gauge Chancellor Adolf Hitler, his policies, and sanity. One of the most cherished moments of his career, if not moments in the history of the United States, came when Hitler asked why he was so misunderstood by the American press, to which the President responded, "Because Americans believe in democracy and are averse to dictatorship."

Hearst would return to the White House after President Roosevelt's near fatal stroke; leading the United States to victory against Nazi Germany, Japan, Italy, Nationalist Spain, and for a few tense months, the USSR. Hearst, in his advanced age, largely left the duties of head of state to Vice President Rayburn and Secretary of State Eleanor Roosevelt; although he addressed the first assembly of the new United Nations, which ironically was identical to the late Secretary of State Wilson's proposal at the end of the Great European War.

After he was succeeded by President Stevenson, Mr. Hearst permanently retired to his home of San Simeon; hosting dignataries such as Prime Minister Churchill of the United Kingdom of Greater Britain and France and Massachusetts Governor Joe Kennedy.

the late President is survived by his wife Myrna Hearst, his first two ex-wives, his five sons, his news and entertainment empire, and the world he protected.
 
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1975
Noted Civil Rights and antipoverty activist Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. has died of an apparent heart attack, he was 46 years old. King emerged into the national consciousness during the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. From the mid fifties through the early sixties King was arguably the most prominent civil rights activist in the country, advocating non violent resistance to the practice of segregation. King's leadership is wildly credited with helping to overturn the Jim Crow laws which dominated much of the south. He delivered his famous and well remembered "I have a dream" speech during the 1963 march on Washington. He won a Nobel Prize for his efforts in 1964. During the early sixties he was among the most admired men in the country. But as the sixties wore on, King became increasingly marginalized within the larger and increasingly radicalized Civil Rights Movement. Beginning in 1968, King turned his attentions towards addressing the issues of poverty in the United States, famously protesting the 1969 moon landing as a waste of funds which would be better spent on social programs. King's antipoverty efforts continued until his death. Though former President Nixon was sympathetic to King's earlier antisegregation efforts, his fervent opposition to the war in Vietnam, and what he saw as Nixon's efforts to widen the conflict, eventually placed King on Nixon's vaunted "Enemies List" Following a series of congressional hearings that followed the resignation of President Nixon, it was revealed that King was a frequent target of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. When asked about Hoover's alleged harassment, including a letter allegedly designed to cause King to commit suicide, King responded. "Jesus taught us that we should forgive those who trespass against us, and so whatever harm he may have done me, it would be nothing less than a sin for me to refuse to forgive the late Mr. Hoover." He is survived by his wife, and four children. Long time King associate Ralph Abernathy is expected to succeed King as the leader of the SCLC.
 
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blackangel: RFK was a sociocultural conservative IOTL. Not by 1960s standards of civil rights but by 2010 standards of "family values" the answer is a firm yes. Traditional Catholic stances on all sociocultural issues, but unusually for Catholic politicians that includes an anti-death penalty stance. I won't mention his views on homosexuality, because Ian would kick me if I posted the verbatim quotes. Much closer to Scalia's view than Dick Cheney's, and that's all I'll say on the matter.

you're issue is, EVERY one saw things that way in the 1960s, if he'd lived he wouldn't be frozen in 1968.
 
Johnny Williams. 1940-1998
Popular English comedian and cartoonist Johnny Williams died last night after a long battle with lung cancer. The "Green Society"* alum was 58 years old and is survived by his daughter Julia and his wife Eleanor Williams was born in October of 1940 to Julia and Alfred Lennon. He was given the name "John Lennon" in honor of his paternal grandfather. Following Alfred Lennon's death at sea, Julia Lennon began a relationship with a welsh soldier named Taffy Williams, who married Julia in 1944, and formally adopted the three year old John. Williams rose to prominence during the sixties for his cartoons and his absurdist poetry. As such, he was perhaps the most prominent member of The Green Society during it's formation. According to fellow member John Cleese, "I remember the lot of us being slightly nervous to invite him to join the group. You have to remember, Johnny Williams had been more less established, in the underground at least, since the sixties. We were afraid he'd try to make it, 'The Johnny Williams Show featuring the Green Society' And we didn't want that. Remarkably, the fellow didn't have much of a hard time working with us, though he sure had a temper on him.' Williams married actress and fellow comedian Eleanor Bron in 1966.

OCC: Basically TTL version of Monty Python
 
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Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 - June 10, 2016)

Regarded as one of the Greatest American Actors and Sportsmen to ever live, Paul Newman's passing is being felt around the world and particularly across America.

Born to immigrant parents in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Newman began showing an interest in theatre and acting at a young age. Inducted into the United States Navy in 1943, Newman first came to national attention during the Battle of Okinawa, where he was awarded the Medal of Honor for being instrumental in saving destroyer USS Van Valkenberg after it was hit by gunfire from a Japanese shore emplacement, though he suffered serious injuries to his chest in the process. Returning from war, Newman was a Broadway actor before moving to Hollywood in 1954, where he debuted in The Silver Chalice. His acting careers included numerous Hollywood successes in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Newman's knack for planning allowed him to be a successful racing driver and a successful actor simultaneously, and he continued acting and providing voice-overs all the way to his death. Newman was introduced to racing by famed racing promoter Cameron Argentsinger, and Newman's rise in acting coincided with his rising to be one of America's top racing drivers. Newman won the Indy 500 in 1958 and repeated that victory four years later. Newman raced in 95 Formula One World Championship races between 1956 and 1972, winning twice - the 1967 South African Grand Prix and the 1970 United States Grand Prix. During this time he became friends with Mario Andretti, a friendship that lasted for the remainder of his life. Newman returned to Indianapolis in 1973 and ran in the race every year until his final start in 1990 at the age of 65, finishing a best of third in 1981. Newman became an Indycar team owner in 1982, and his team, along with his partner Carl Haas, would claim several Indycar titles, the first with Mario Andretti in 1984, and several Indy 500s, again the first won by Mario in 1996 after Mario's son, Michael, had flopped out of high finishes several times, forming what came to be known as the "Andretti Curse" at Indianapolis. The same year as his race team started, Newman started his own brand of salad dressings, with the stated point that all of the after-tax proceeds of which would go to charity. He kept his promise on that, and since 1982 over $325 million has been donated to charity from these ventures. A long-time supporter of liberal causes, he was often connected to these, including proudly boasting of his position on Richard Nixon's enemies list.

Newman is survived by his wife, Joanne Woodward, and daughters Susan, Stephanie, Elinor, Melissa and Claire.
 
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