On This Day in Alternate History

Commemorating historical events from alternate universes, every day.

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

1 April 1990: A Soviet radar facility malfunctions and mistakenly warns of an imminent missile strike from the United States, triggering a nuclear war between the USSR and NATO. Thousands of years of Human civilization come to an end.

World War III (1998)
Robert Stone, Ingo Helm

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

1 April 1939: The Empire of Japan launches a full-scale invasion of the USSR after several months of skirmishes in Mongolia.

The War That Came Early (2009)
Harry Turtledove

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

1 April 1914: The United States of Mexico breaks off all diplomatic communications with France after months of attempted French incursions in South America.

For Want of a Nail (1973)
Robert Sobel

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

1 April 878: King Alfred of Wessex is inspired to embrace paganism when he receives a letter from Pope John VIII reprimanding him for his treatment of the Archbishop of Canterbury and taxing of Church properties.

A Letter From the Pope (1990)
Harry Harrison, Tom Shippey

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

31 March 2010: US President Ed Murphy announces to the public that he will comply with Soviet demands to stand down and disarm the military, allowing a Soviet-led alliance to occupy the United States and Canada.

The Price of Freedom (1986)
West End Games

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

31 March 1998: US author Norman Armiger founds the Portland Protective Association, an alliance of gangs who intend to rule Oregon in the wake of the Change which has rendered all electronics and firearms on Earth useless.

Dies the Fire (2004)
S. M. Stirling

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

31 March 1998: Mike Havel, a former US marine and a survivor of the Change which destroyed all of Earth’s electronics, kills a black bear using a spear. Henceforth, the survivors he leads will be known as “Bearkillers”.

Dies the Fire (2004)
S. M. Stirling

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

31 March 1995: A joint rescue operation organized by NASA, Roscosmos, and Helios Aerospace successfully recovers two spacefarers buried by a landslide several hours later which killed three of their colleagues.

For All Mankind (2022)
Dan Liu, Joe Menosky, Eric Phillips

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

31 March 1990: Following the loss of East Germany to NATO in the Third World War, Soviet General Secretary Vladimir Soshin orders a nuclear strike over the North Sea in order to intimidate the West and quell dissent in the USSR.

World War III (1998)
Robert Stone, Ingo Helm

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

30 March 1999: An air raid destroys an apartment complex in the country of Sokovia. Among the casualties are the parents of future superheroes Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

WandaVision (2021)
Matt Shakman, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

30 March 1981: After attempting to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley Jr. evades capture and makes a second attempt on Reagan’s life before being apprehended.

Timeless (2018)
Arika Lisanne Mittman, Lauren Greer

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

30 March 1863: A division of the Confederate Army commanded by Major Hobart Crawley is wiped out by opposing Union forces, resulting in the death of 3,202 soldiers. Crawley is the sole survivor.

Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
Rockstar Studios

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

29 March 1995: Anti-NASA activists steal a statue of hero astronauts Tracey and Gordo Stevens from outside the NASA headquarters in Houston.

For All Mankind (2022)
Dan Liu, Nichole Beattie

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

29 March 1995: An exploding drill rig on Mars triggers a landslide which kills Russian cosmonaut Alexei Poletov, Cuban cosmonaut Isabel Castillo, and Helios Aerospace astronaut Nick Corrado.

For All Mankind (2022)
Dan Liu, Joe Menosky, Eric Phillips

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

29 March 1995: Hackers manipulate the tickers at the NY Stock Exchange to give the appearance of a market collapse reminiscent of Black Tuesday, causing a brief panic.

The Net (1995)
Irwin Winkler, John Brancato, Michael Ferris

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

29 March 1965: US President John F. Kennedy announces that his brother-in-law, Peter Lawford, will serve as the next US Ambassador to the British monarchy.

Naked Presidents (2000)
James Silver

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

28 March 2016: Anthony Moretti, a 32-year-old California father of two, dies of liver failure after being illegally bumped down the federal waiting list in favour of US President Frank Underwood.

House of Cards (2016)
Tom Shankland, Laura Eason

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

28 March 1979: A partial meltdown occurs at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania but is quickly contained using failsafes originally designed to protect the reactor powering NASA’s Jamestown lunar base.

For All Mankind (2021)
Michael Morris, Ronald D. Moore

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

28 March 1979: A reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant experiences a minor system failure. The exact nature of this issue is not disclosed to the public and the possibility of a partial meltdown will not be announced until June.

Super 8 (2011)
J.J. Abrams

[On This Day in Alternate History @OnThisDayAH]

28 March 1941: Less than a week after the assassination of Adolf Hitler, the Gestapo begins to round up opponents to Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler. Hermann Göring and Rudolf Hess are among those arrested and hanged.

Block 109 (2010)
Vincent Brugeas