What one event from 1900-2016 would you remove/change for the best modern earth?

Or the PRC never forms, leaving the ROC to round up all the warlords, probably not invade Tibet, and support the US.

They'll still invade Tibet...
The ROC considered that to be Chinese territory...
In fact, they threatened to bomb the airport if they declared independence officially!
 
Franz Ferdinand stays away from Bosnia. The Kaiser never suffers from Battleship envy and the Tsar learns the lessons of the fates of Charles I of Britain and Louis XVI of France i.e absolute monarchs who refuse to listen to their subjects cause revolutions.
 
Hard to say. Any event that I would try to change could have potential negative effects such as preventing World War One might make de-colonization sooner rather than later and keep the various absolute monarchs of Europe such as the Kaiser and Tsar in power. It also might just lead to an alternate World War down the road that could be more devastating as the base reasons for WW1 are still there, regardless of preventing the assassination of the Archduke.
There had been wars in the Baltic in preceding years that came to nothing outside of the region because none of the bog powers were really keen on the bloodshed they knew would come.

I would abort the development of the motorcar to the extent that it doesn't harm rail transport while hoping that all other technological advances can still happen.
Difficult - if not impossible - to pull off, as there were so many people working on it.
 
I'm pretty sure Tube Alloys (the British program) procs first, so no uncountered USSR nuke.

Tube Alloys was launched in 1941, in the context of war with Nazi Germany. Without the scary Nazi threat, it is unlikely that Britain or France will pursue the Bomb at all, much less as a matter of maximum urgency. Many scientists will oppose the development of such a horrific weapon.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
Tube Alloys was launched in 1941, in the context of war with Nazi Germany. Without the scary Nazi threat, it is unlikely that Britain or France will pursue the Bomb at all, much less as a matter of maximum urgency. Many scientists will oppose the development of such a horrific weapon.

Wrong year, I think. MAUD was set up in 1940, and that was to explore something which was already considered possible.

It's true that it would be soft-pedalled, but then again so would everyone else be. (MAUD described it as "not just feasible, but inevitable" in late 1940, and they could see the logic of "we'd better have one even if we never use it" just as well as post-WW2 MAD - that's why Vegetarian and gas stockpiles were set up.)
 
Any chance of Germany getting the bomb first? Without the nazis you dont get the exodus of the academic class. Afaik the TOV doesnt cover nuclear weapons and ICBMs so that would be a good way to increase the Reichswehr power without breaching international commitments.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
Any chance of Germany getting the bomb first? Without the nazis you dont get the exodus of the academic class. Afaik the TOV doesnt cover nuclear weapons and ICBMs so that would be a good way to increase the Reichswehr power without breaching international commitments.

It's possible, actually, though it still counts as a democracy getting it first.

That'd be fun - a pan-European anti-Soviet bloc with The Bomb.



But here's my other suggestion, possibly a longshot - the British Army continues on the upward strength trend of OTL after the Boer War, instead of being cut in the late 1900s and early 1910s. That might just make WW1 a short war.

Not sure the odds of that, though.
 
loneranger's Early 20th Century Assassination List
  1. Leon Czolgosz (September 5, 1901) (PoD for Reds!)
  2. Adolf Hitler (October 1, 1909) (probably a TL out there)
  3. Vladimir Lenin (October 1, 1909) (PoD for the Limpid Stream)
  4. Yuan Shikai (February 24, 1912) (PoD for Superpower Empire)
  5. Gavrillo Princip (June 27, 1914) (probably a TL out there)

Actually -

loneranger's Early 20th Century Assassination List 2nd Draft
  1. Leon Czolgosz (September 5, 1901) (PoD for Reds!)
  2. Yuan Shikai (February 24, 1912) (PoD for Superpower Empire)
  3. Vladimir Lenin (April 15, 1917) (PoD for the Limpid Stream)
  4. Adolf Hitler (September 12, 1919) (The day he became a Nazi)
 
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Saphroneth

Banned
TUBE ALLOYS was established in 1941, in consquence of the MAUD Report.
Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding. I meant Tube Alloys as shorthand - you're correct that the actual project itself wasn't launched until 1941, but my understanding was that it was already going to be launched irrespective of the military situation in 1940.
 
Without the threat of Red Revolution, there is no real space for Nazis.

I totally misread that as "Without the thread of Red Revolution, there are no real space Nazis".

loneranger's Early 20th Century Assassination List 2nd Draft

  1. Leon Czolgosz (September 5, 1901) (PoD for Reds!)
  2. Yuan Shikai (February 24, 1912) (PoD for Superpower Empire)
  3. Vladimir Lenin (April 15, 1917) (PoD for the Limpid Stream)
  4. Adolf Hitler (September 12, 1919) (The day he became a Nazi)

Don't forget Reds! involved a lot more than just McKinley not getting shot. You need to get the US into WW1 for a start.
 
Don't forget Reds! involved a lot more than just McKinley not getting shot. You need to get the US into WW1 for a start.
Hell, a lot of that assumes that in a real time travel scenario things would actually turn out just like timelines did here. :p
 
A change: Taft accepts TR's nomination to the Supreme Court in 1902. That paves the way for an Elihu Root interregnum (1909-1913) and a return to the White House for TR in 1913.

Once there, his prestige among the chancelleries of Europe allows him to mediate a peaceful conclusion to the Austro-Serbian crisis of 1914 following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Take it from there...
 
I totally misread that as "Without the thread of Red Revolution, there are no real space Nazis".



Don't forget Reds! involved a lot more than just McKinley not getting shot. You need to get the US into WW1 for a start.

Hell, that's not even the POD. The POD is DeLeon and Debs patching up the differences between their respective socialist organizations, particularly in their dealings with the AFL. Hence, the socialist movement remains unified, instead of fractured.
 
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