Historical Characters Who Died Sooner Than In OTL

This entry lists all of the historical figures whose lifespan was shorter in one or more of the works of Harry Turtledove than in OTL. Most of these characters were killed off years before they died in OTL (for instance, Winston Churchill died in 1965 in OTL, but in The War That Came Early he is killed in a car accident in 1940), but some did die mere months earlier than their OTL death.

This page should be for those people Turtledove specifically names as being dying early in the text, or at least provide sufficient circumstantial clues as to their deaths. For example, several timelines (most notably The Hot War and Worldwar) feature the destruction of several key cities by atomic bombs. While any number of lives were cut short, this list should only focus on those people Turtledove specifies as being among the dead.

Atlantis
An anomaly occurs in the story "Avalon." Historical pirates Stede Bonnet, Cutpurse Charlie Condent, Goldbeard Walter Kennedy, and Christopher Moody take part in the Battle of the Hesperian Gulf around 1666 and, given the nature of the war, presumably were killed during or just after the battle. However, in OTL, none of these figures had yet been born at that date.

A Different Flesh
An odd case occurs in the form of historical character Richard Trevithick, who in this series was born sooner than in OTL. In OTL he was born in 1771, but his age in the story "The Iron Elephant" would suggest be was born around 1750 in the Flesh timeline.

Joe Steele
The above applies to the novel. In the short story, John Nance Garner dies in 1953 (d. in OTL 1967, is still alive at end of novel), Hirohito, Emperor Showa dies in December 1945, and Sam Rayburn (d. in OTL 1961, not figuring in novel) dies in 1937.

The Man With the Iron Heart
The specific fates of Birkett and Lawrence are the subject of much debate. See this page for more information.

Southern Victory
One of Huey Long's Brothers dies in 1937. Logically this is either George Long (d. OTL 1958) or Earl Long (d. OTL 1960), but it is never specified which of the two.

The War That Came Early
In addition, the fates of Werner von Fritsch, Franz Halder, and Hermann Göring in the series are ambiguous; see these characters' respective pages for more information.