Historical Characters Who Lived Longer Than in OTL

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.

Atlantis

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

Curious Notions

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

Days of Infamy

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

A Different Flesh

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

"The Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging"

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

"Election Day"

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.

"The Emperor's Return"

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

"The Fake Pandemic"

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

"Gilgamesh and the Homeboys"

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

Gunpowder Empire

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

The Guns of the South

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

"Hail! Hail!"

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

In the Presence of Mine Enemies

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

"Islands in the Sea"

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

Joe Steele

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

"The Last Article"

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

The Man With the Iron Heart

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

"Occupation Duty"

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

Or Even Eagle Flew

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

"The Phantom Tolbukhin"

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

"Ready for the Fatherland"

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

Ruled Britannia

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

"Shtetl Days"

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

Southern Victory

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

State of Jefferson Stories

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

The Two Georges

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

"Uncle Alf"

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

"Under St. Peter's"

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

The Wages of Sin

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

The War That Came Early

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

Worldwar

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

See Also

• Historical Characters Who Died Sooner Than In OTL