This entry lists all of the historical figures Harry Turtledove has used as characters in his alternate history works who had longer lifespans than in OTL . In most instances, the person lived years or even decades long than they did in OTL (for instance, George Armstrong Custer died in 1876 in OTL whereas in Southern Victory he lives until 1930), but some lived a few extra months at most. Turtledove does not always depict the deaths of historical characters, particularly those who play a minor role in a work. Their deaths may be estimates based on the in-text clues of a work. Others are explicitly still alive at the end of a given story, novel, or series, and this fact is noted accordingly.
Characters marked with * lived longer lives in more than one work.
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Edward Braddock
July, 1755
Gunshot wound in battle
1761
Gunshot wound in battle
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon
September, 1759
Gunshot wound in battle
1761
Gunshot wound in battle
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
May, 1940
Wounded in battle
After 1956
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Tomeo Kaku
June, 1942
Drowned in battle
June, 1943
Drowned in battle
Isoroku Yamamoto *
April, 1943
Plane shot down
Alive at series' end, June, 1943
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Charles I of England
January, 1649
Execution by decapitation
Presumably after 1649
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Date of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Date of OTL Death
Anne Frank
March, 1945
Disease while imprisoned
Alive at story's end, 2013
Edith Frank
January, 1945
Disease and malnutrition while in captivity
After May 1945
Unknown
Margot Frank
March, 1945
Disease and malnutrition while in captivity
Fritz Pfeffer
December, 1944
Disease while in custody
Auguste van Pels
April-May, 1945
Possibly pushed in front of a train while in captivity
Hermann van Pels
October, 1944
Murder by poison gas while in captivity
Peter van Pels
April-May, 1945
Illness while in captivity
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
July 16, 1999
Plane crash into the sea
Alive at story's end, November 8, 2016
John F. Kennedy Jr.
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Constantine XI
29 May 1453
Probably killed in battle
10 June 2003
Shot to death
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Tribonian
542
Disease
Alive at story's end, 544
Urias
540
Murder
Alive at story's end, 544
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Gilgamesh
c. 2600 BCE
Unknown
1991 CE
Shot to death
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Agrippa
12 BCE
Natural causes
26 CE
Natural causes
Lucius Caesar
August, 2 CE
Disease
After 26 CE
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Abraham Lincoln *
April, 1865
Assassination by gunshot
Alive at novel's end, 1868
Maximilian I of Mexico *
June, 1867
Execution by firing squad
Alive at novel's end, 1868
King Philip the horse
1865 or 1866
Colic
Alive in November, 1867
Leonidas Polk
June, 1864
Artillery shell in battle
Alive in August, 1864
Jeb Stuart *
May, 1864
Gunshot in battle
Alive at novel's end, 1868
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
John Dunn Hunter
February, 1827
Execution by hanging
Alive as of March, 1827
Richard Fields
February, 1827
Execution by hanging
Alive as of March, 1827
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Josef Goebbels *
May, 1945
Suicide by either gun or poison
After 1945
Unknown
Hermann Göring *
October, 1946
Suicide by poison
c. 1961
Unknown
Heinrich Himmler *
May, 1945
Suicide by poison
1985(conspiracy theory says 1983)
Natural causes
Adolf Hitler *
April, 1945
Suicide, likely by firearm
Late 1960s
Natural causes
Benito Mussolini *
April, 1945
Execution by firing squad
After 1945
Unknown
Leni Riefenstahl
September, 2003
Cancer
c. 2007
Unknown
Julius Streicher *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
After 1946
Unknown
Isoroku Yamamoto *
April, 1943
Plane shot down
After 1943
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Constantine II, Antipope
April 769 (disputed)
Unknown
Alive at story's end, 769
Niketas
c. 745 (disputed)
Unknown
Alive at story's end, 769
Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik
717
Natural causes
Alive in 718
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Genrikh Yagoda
March, 1938
Execution by gunshot
Alive at novel's end, 1953
Leon Trotsky *
August, 1940
Icepick to the skull
Alive at novel's end, 1953
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Josef Goebbels *
May, 1945
Suicide by poison
Alive at story's end, 1947
Adolf Hitler *
April, 1945
Suicide, likely by firearm
Alive at story's end, 1947
Reinhard Heydrich *
June, 1942
Wounds caused by bomb
Alive at story's end, 1947
William Joyce
January, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at story's end, 1947
Walther Model
April, 1945
Suicide by firearm
Alive at story's end, 1947
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Hans Frank
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Hermann Göring *
October, 1946
Suicide by poison
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Reinhard Heydrich *
June, 1942
Wounds by bomb
November, 1947
Shot to death
Alfred Jodl
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Ernst Kaltenbrunner *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Wilhelm Keitel
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Joachim von Ribbentrop *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Alfred Rosenberg
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Julius Streicher *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Alive at novel's end, 1948
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Goliath
c. 1020 BC
Blow to the head
Unspecified later date
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Amelia Earhart
Disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead January 5, 1939
Likely plane crash into the ocean
Summer, 1943
Aerial combat
Amy Johnson
Disappeared January 5, 1941
Unknown, likely consequence of an aerial accident
February, 1941
Aerial combat
Fred Noonan
Disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead June 20, 1938
Likely plane crash into the ocean
Apparently alive at story's end, Summer, 1943
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Adolf Hitler *
April, 1945
Suicide, likely by firearm
Alive at story's end, 1947
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Erwin Rommel
October, 1944
Suicide by poison
Presumably after 1944
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Eleanor Bull
March, 1596
Natural causes
Alive in 1598
Diego Flores de Valdés
1595
Natural causes
Alive on the morning of 13 October 1598
Robert Greene
September, 1592
Food poisoning
December, 1597
Food poisoning
Christopher Marlowe *
May, 1593
Sword through the eye
October, 1598
Sword through the eye
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Adolf Hitler *
April, 1945
Suicide, likely by firearm
Presumably after 1945
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
John Wilkes Booth
April, 1865
Gunshot wound
After 1882 but well before 1914
Unknown
Charles I of Austria
April, 1922
Pneumonia
Alive at series' end, 1945
Patrick Cleburne
November, 1864
Shot in battle
Alive in July, 1914
George Custer
June, 1876
Killed in battle, specific cause unknown
1930
Natural causes
Tom Custer
June, 1876
Killed in battle, specific cause unknown
November, 1881
Shot in battle
Nathan Bedford Forrest III
June, 1943
Plane crash
Spring, 1944
Execution
James Garfield
September, 1881
Assassination by gunshot
After 1882 but before 1914
Unknown
Jacob Gordin
June, 1909
Cancer
Alive in 1915
James Alpheus Skidmore Harris
May, 1863
Wound received in battle
After 1882 and probably before 1914
Unknown
Thomas Jackson
May, 1863
Bullet wound
After 1882 but before 1914
Unknown
Abraham Lincoln *
April, 1865
Assassination by gunshot
After 1882 but before 1914
Unknown
Huey Long
September 1935
Assassination by gunshot
1937
Assassination by gunshot
Maximilian I of Mexico *
June, 1867
Execution by firing squad
Probably 1879 or 1880
Unknown
Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia
June, 1918
Execution by gunshot
Alive at series' end, 1945
Nicholas II of Russia *
July, 1918
Execution by firing squad
C. 1932
Natural causes (presumably)
Stephen Ramseur
October, 1864
Gunshot wound in battle
Alive in July, 1914
Unknown
Will Rogers
August, 1935
Plain crash
Possibly alive in 1940
Theodore Roosevelt
January, 1919
Blood clot in his lungs
Summer, 1924
Cerebral hemmorhage
Satanta
October 1878
Suicide by self-defenestration
After 1882, probably before 1914
Unknown
Robert Shaw
July, 1863
Shot in battle
Alive in July, 1914
Unknown
Jeb Stuart *
May, 1864
Gunshot in battle
February, 1882
Gunshot in battle
Alfred Sully
April, 1879
Aortic hemorrhage
After 1881 but before 1914
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Gilbert Gable
December 2, 1941
Heart attack
December 4, 1941
Indigestion
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
John F. Kennedy
November, 1963
Assassination by gunshot
Alive at novel's end, August 1995
Martin Luther King Jr.
April, 1968
Assassination by gunshot
Alive at novel's end, August 1995
Louis XVI of France
January, 1793
Execution by decapitation
Probably after 1793
Unknown
Richard Nixon
April, 1994
Stroke
15 June 1995
Gunshot wound
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Nicholas II of Russia *
July, 1918
Execution by firing squad
Alive at story's end, May 1929
Alfred von Schlieffen
January, 1913
Natural causes
After August, 1914
Unknown
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Jesus
c. AD 30
Execution by crucifixion
Half-alive at end of story, April 2005
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Christopher Marlowe *
May, 1593
Sword through the eye
c. 1613
The Wasting
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Manuel Azaña
November, 1940
Heart attack
Alive at series' end, Mid-1944
Ronald Cartland
May, 1940
Gunshot wound during battle
Alive at series' end, Mid-1944
Reinhard Heydrich *
June, 1942
Wounds caused by bomb
Possibly alive at series' end, Mid-1944
Fritz-Julius Lemp
May, 1941
Drowned
Alive at series' end, Mid-1944
Edward Rydz-Smigly
December, 1941
Heart attack
Alive at series' end, Mid-1944
José Sanjurjo
July, 1936
Plane crash
Fall, 1943
Assassinated by gunshot
Leon Trotsky *
August, 1940
Ice pick to the skull
Possibly alive at series' end, Mid-1944
Person
Date of OTL Death
Cause of OTL Death
Date of Fictional Death
Cause of Fictional Death
Mordechai Anielewicz
May, 1943
Gunshot during battle
After 1966 but well before 2031
Unknown
Lavrenty Beria
December, 1953
Execution by gunshot
Spring, 1963
Execution by gunshot
Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt
May, 1943
Dysentery
Alive in early 1944
Probably dysentery
Joseph Darnand
October, 1945
Execution by firing squad
Alive in 1965
Unknown
James Dean
September, 1955
Car accident
Alive in 1994
Unknown
Jacques Doriot
February, 1945
Gunshot during battle
Alive in 1965
Unknown
Adolf Eichmann
May, 1962
Execution by hanging
Summer, 1965
Killed in the Race-German War of 1965
Roland Freisler
February, 1945
Killed in a bombing raid
Alive in 1963
Unknown
Aleksandr German
1943
Killed in battle
Alive in 1944
Unknown
Josef Goebbels *
May, 1945
Execution by hanging
Summer, 1965
Killed during war
Hermann Göring *
October, 1946
Suicide by poison
c. 1960
Unknown
Heinrich Himmler *
May, 1945
Suicide by poison
Late 1964
Coronary thrombosis
Adolf Hitler *
April, 1945
Suicide, likely by firearm
Mid 1950s
Probably natural causes
Rudolf Höss
April, 1947
Execution by hanging
Alive in January, 1963
Unknown
Ernst Kaltenbrunner *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
Summer, 1965
Killed by explosive device during war
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
August, 1944
Plane crash
Alive in 1964
Unknown
Henry Kissinger
November, 2023
Natural causes
Detected in 2031
Heart failure
Benito Mussolini *
April, 1945
Execution by firing squad
After summer, 1945
Unknown
Sigmund Rascher
April, 1945
Execution by firing squad
Alive in 1964
Unknown
Joachim von Ribbentrop *
October, 1946
Execution by hanging
1950s
Unknown
Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski
August, 1944
Beaten to death
Alive in Fall, 1944
Unknown
Hideki Tojo
December, 1948
Execution by hanging
Alive in 1965
Unknown
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