Once Again, Famous People In Alternate Realities

[Æsir]

One of the most popular and frequently recurring collaborative timeline formats in AH.com has been the the Famous People In Alternate Realities threads, starting with the strange universe which became known as "Puget Sound-One" and spawning more than two dozen universes. The idea is simple; post short biographies of OTL famous people in an ATL where their life was different, be it greatly or subtly. There are various approaches that can be taken; humorous and/or satirical comments on OTL people (Such as PS-1's porn mogul Bill Clinton), people pursuing alternate careers that they considered in OTL (Such as John Kerry going into the priesthood or Malcolm X persevering and becoming a lawyer), or simply politicians and actors whose careers are changed due to how world history played out differently.

There are two other main rules;

1. No PODs before January 1st, 1900.
2. All entries are in a single, present day timeline.

For the first entry;

Thomas Gore (1870-1947) - Mississippi born Senator from Oklahoma 1907-1921 and Vice President of the United States 1921-1929 (Under William Gibbs McAdoo). Blind from childhood and an atheist and staunch isolationist and progressive Democrat, he was an important political figure in the Interbellum Era, between the end of the first World War (Venezuela Crisis War) in 1909 and beginning of the second (The First Comintern War) in 1927. He was the Democratic nominee for President in 1928 but his doctrinaire isolationism even after Communist German U-Boats sunk the ocean liner Florida in the North Atlantic cost him the election.

Gore's daughter Nina was the wife of athlete and "Father of the United States Air Force" Eugene Luther Vidal and mother of Eugene Gore Vidal, longtime New York Congressman and Democratic President of the United States 1985-1989. It is unclear whether or not he was related to the Gore family of Tennessee (The late Senator Albert Gore Sr and General, Secretary of Defense, and Medal of Honor winner for actions in the North African Theatre of the fourth World War Al Gore Jr). Gore was an atheist, although he did not speak publicly about it in his lifetime, and was the only blind man and only Oklahoman to reach either of the nation's two highest executive offices.

 

[Æsir]

No other takers?

 

[Turquoise Blue]

Hell, here.

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr.

The first Socialist President of the United States.

In 1906, he wrote 'The Jungle' which was taken as an inspiring book by many extreme left liberals, starting the process of making the Socialist party, founded by Debs in 1901, much bigger. Sinclair was the Socialist nomination for Governor of California two times, both losses, both to the Democrats. The Democrats was growing weaker as many of its far-left miembers shifted to the Socialists. This ensured an unstable political system for the 1910s and 1920s, but when the Great Depression happened, many looked to the left to save them. The far weaker Democrats was found lacking, but the Socialists was more appealing to them. In recognition of Sinclair's contributions to Socialism and the Party, he was their nomination for 1932, and he beat both the Democratic nomination, Herbert Hoover, and the Republican incumbent, Franklin D. Roosevelt, winning over half of the United States's states. In his time of office, he passed a 'Good Deal' program, revamping the fabrics of American society. He was insanely popular by the end of his second term, yet he declined to run for a third. He retired and died in 1942.

 

[Æsir]

Hell, here.

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr.

The first Socialist President of the United States.

In 1906, he wrote 'The Jungle' which was taken as an inspiring book by many extreme left liberals, starting the process of making the Socialist party, founded by Debs in 1901, much bigger. Sinclair was the Socialist nomination for Governor of California two times, both losses, both to the Democrats. The Republicans was growing weaker as many of its far-left members shifted to the Socialists. This ensured a Democratic hegemony for the 1910s and 1920s, but when the Great Depression happened, many looked to the left to save them. The far weaker Republicans was found lacking, but the Socialists was more appealing to them. In recognition of Sinclair's contributions to Socialism and the Party, he was their nomination for 1932, and he beat both the Democrat incumbent, Herbert Hoover, and the Republican nomination, Franklin D. Roosevelt, winning over half of the United States's states. In his time of office, he passed a 'Good Deal' program, revamping the fabrics of American society. He was insanely popular by the end of his second term, yet he declined to run for a third. He retired and died in 1942.

That doesn't really work in the timeline; the Democratic nominee (Thomas Gore) lost in 1928. And I'm not sure with a post-1900 POD (So far the POD seems to be a world war breaking out following the 1902-1903 Venezuela Crisis) FDR and Hoover would end up in opposite parties to what they were IOTL.

EDIT: I see now you changed it. My point on party affiliations stands, however, and I'm not sure even the most progressive Republicans would go over to the Socialist Party, honestly...

Vladimir Putin (Влади́мир Пу́тин) (1952-) - Controversial Russian right-populist politician, who served formerly as a State Duma member for the Petrograd Governorate 1999-2011 Chairman of the center-right Union of October 17 (Octobrist) party 2004-2010, and Speaker of the State Duma (Essentially the Russian Prime Minister) 2007-2012. A former bureaucrat in the Russian Foreign Service who had various postings including in Paris and Washington (The capitals of Russia's two most important allies) he was elected to the Regional Duma of Petrograd in 1992 and resigned in 1996 to accept his appointment as Governor by then Speaker Yevgeny Primakov (Putin's political mentor). After the Octobrists lost the 1997 election to the RSDRP, Putin was replaced as Governor by Galina Starovoytova.

Putin first entered the State Duma in 1999 in a special election and became known as a rising star in the Octobrist Party's populist faction, staunchly supporting socially conservative traditionalism while opposing the abolition or weakening of the role of the Czar and the Russian Orthodox state church and viewing with skepticism the economic liberalism of the party's center faction. By the 2004 party leadership election (Coming on the heels of the party's second electoral defeat in 2002) he had built a large enough support base to unseat Mikhail Kasyanov as Chairman. In his first electoral test in 2007, the Octobrists won the most seats but failed to reach a majority, and were forced to govern in a coalition with the Constitutional Democrats (Kadets).

Putin's term as Speaker was controversial, for his heavy handed style of managing his government and the Duma as a whole, implementation of social policies many opposition leaders and critic in the media described as authoritarian, and his neglect of the proposals offered by his coalition partner (Reportedly, he felt the Octobrists had enough seats to maintain a minority government and that the RSDRP and Kadets were too divided to agree on a new speaker; the Russian Constitution allows only constructive votes of no confidence). He was also noted for his anti-American views, criticizing American capitalism and the Russo-American "Special Relationship" that was first solidified during World War I, in which Russia and America (Along with their Austrian, French, and Venezuelan allies among others) defeated Britain, Germany, and Italy.

In 2010, Putin's speakership unravelled as the Kadets withdrew from the coalition and entered talks with the RSDRP, resulting in the Duma replacing Putin with then RSDRP Vice Chairman Nikolai Levichev. Putin was subsequently forced out of the Chairmanship by his center faction rivals and failed to win reelection in the 2012 General Election. His future in politics is unknown, but he recently accepted an international relations teaching position at Saint Petersburg University in Petrograd.

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1907) -- Held many positions in his lifetime -- State Assemblyman, Mayoral Candidate, Civil Servicemember, Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor, and Vice-President. (He later said "my four years in the last capacity have been some of the dullest ever".) He died shortly after losing the 1906 New York Gubernatorial Election, in a hunting accident out in Dakota.

 

[BillyShears]

Denis Healey

Denis Healey (born 30 August 1917) is a retired British politician who served as Prime Minister (1972-1982), Chancellor of the Exchequer (1967-1968), Foreign Secretary (1965-1967), Secretary of State for Defence (1964-1965) and Leader of the Co-operative Party (1969-1982).

Healey is regarded as one of Britain's greatest leaders across the political spectrum. He is noted for his diplomatic approach to end 'The Troubles' in Scotland whilst also protecting the federal parliament of Ireland from rising republican movements in the north. Healey's social mobility programmes, workers councils and emphasis on fairer taxation marked his decade-long term in office.

Hilda Roberts

Hilda Roberts (born 13 October 1925) is an infamous British communist politician.

Roberts was influenced by socialist thought after her parents were killed by a direct-hit from a bomb by the French during the Great War. Roberts was left destitute and orphaned but was a bright child. To ensure that no other children went through what she did she worked hard against the establishment and gained a scholarship to Bailiol College, Oxford. Whilst there she was influenced heavily by Marxist theory and entered politics.

Hilda soon became leader of the Socialist Youth movement of the late 1940s protesting the war policies of Prime Minister Mosley. Hilda soon came to become the first female chairwoman of the Communist Party of Britan. Nicknamed the 'Red Lady' by the press, she and her fellow members, including Norman Tebbit gained large ground in Scotland during the Troubles.

Today, Roberts is a prominent campaigner against the War in Rhodesia and a popular figure among the left, vilified by the right including the Liberals under figures such as Arthur Scargill, Harold Wilson and Michael Foot.