# If you could go back in time and save one person, who would it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 9, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212 "2001-10-09T00:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/61 "2001-10-26T01:27:05Z")
**Nathanael West** Died at the age of 37 in an auto accident. Wrote some strange but interesting literature. In case you’re not a fan of **Cafe Society** , here’s a link: [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/nwest.htm](http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/nwest.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DopeyDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@DopeyDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DopeyDave)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/62 "2001-10-27T06:38:23Z")
**Franz Schubert** Dying in 1828 at 31 from typhoid fever (he would have died young from syphilis anyway), he had already written heaps, including the wrenching song cycle ‘Wintereisse’ and the delightful ‘Trout Quintet’, as well as the well-known ‘Unfinished Symphony’ in B-minor . His song writing showed he had an ear for drama and could have produced great operas. Yet although he was very interested, he did not achieve the success in stage works that he wanted. Had he lived longer, I am sure that success would have come. Whether this would have affected musical development, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/63 "2001-10-29T03:25:51Z")
Chaucer. So that he could finally finish the Caunterbury Tales and I could read the completed works _I hate to read unfinished stories, especially when they’re that good_ Dude… Rasputin is still alive! He’s living somewhere in the Caribbean, fabulously wealthy, with Tupac and Amelia Earhart. Douglas Adams. David Letterman… wait, he’s still alive… And Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella, heck, the whole gang! But if I had to pick one… Chaucer. ---
**Author:** ![aztec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@aztec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aztec)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/64 "2001-10-29T06:32:31Z")
Roberto Clemente ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/65 "2001-10-29T06:47:02Z")
James Dean. Only had three movies under his belt, yet he is a legend. ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/66 "2001-10-29T12:21:31Z")
For no other reason than that I would like to see New York with the Twin Towers intact: The Shah of Iran. Or - if he doesn’t get it done: Anwar Sadat. Of course it would be nice to see if John Kennedy Toole had a second novel in him. And since I see no logical reason to ban religious figures: Mohammed - so he could bitch slap the Taliban et al and tell them what he really meant. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/67 "2001-10-30T00:06:25Z")
Sam Kinison! The world would be a better place if he were still around… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/68 "2001-10-30T08:02:22Z")
I know this is very late, but could I just say, Scylla: clap clap clap ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/69 "2001-10-30T23:04:23Z")
Gandhi. ---
**Author:** ![JubilationTCornpone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@JubilationTCornpone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JubilationTCornpone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/70 "2001-10-31T07:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*schplebordnik wrote: > > > [@](#): > > > > And as for Edith Keeler, if she lives, maybe Spock goes back and tries to kill her again, but either Kirk (who is in love with her) or McCoy (who probably gets her on the rebound if Kirk does another “love 'em and leave 'em” thing) is there to defend her from Spock using the patented Starfleet Academy karate chops and high kicks (or the famous Kirk fist-in-hand hammer drop). > > Don’t underestimate Spock’s Vulcan strength and reflexes. Or that dreaded Vulcan Nerve Pinch maneuver of his.\*\* Bah. Clearly no match against the famous Kirk flying double-kick. Or the patented McCoy hypo. ---
**Author:** ![Eohippus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Eohippus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eohippus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/71 "2001-10-31T14:15:01Z")
What about Jesus Christ? He lives to a ripe old age, and his sect becomes no more than another little, forgotten cult. Then,the rest of us don’t have to live with the repercussions of the Crusades, the Inquisition, Fundies… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/72 "2001-10-31T18:33:44Z")
Raoul Wallenberg Elie Weisel’s father The brothers that died on one of the ships during the Pearl Harbor Attack. ( that story has always haunted me) ---
**Author:** ![sarky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@sarky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sarky)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/73 "2001-10-31T22:37:49Z")
i wanna agree with blacklaw, i want to save the person that died before he or she could tell us the final piece of the puzzle. that one is the most important sophie. (tho gandhi comes a close second) ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/74 "2001-11-09T07:23:07Z")
Some good choices here. I’d like to add the following, each for different reasons: Princess Diana. Had she lived longer, in time the world as a whole may have eventually seen her for what she really was…an overprivileged, immature rich girl who never had to do any real work in her life, and whose problems were _grossly_ exaggerated (what, you think working class women never have marital difficulties?). Her endless “martyrdom” was one of the most nauseating things I’ve ever lived through, and believe me, I avoided it every chance I could. Tom Mees. Many of the third-rate clowns on ESPN (Kenny Mayne, this means **you!** ) couldn’t hold his mike. He was one of the few modern-era sportscasters I actually looked forward to listening to. Korey Stringer. Wrong time, wrong team, absolutely unfathomable reason. The Columbine victims who didn’t deserve it. It’s the pinnacle of injustice to have to die for someone else’s crime. Israel “Bruddah Iz” Kaahumanu (sp?). Not for me, but for my fellow Hawaiians who have never gotten over losing him. And my “facetious” choices (since there are so many already): Geese Howard. He lives, no arguments on when or how many times he’s been killed, we just watch as he bungles his criminal empire into the ground. Nakoruru. Just so she’d have a normal life. The “Mermaid”-style resurrections (see Rumiko Takahashi) are just…well…wrong. Jun Kazama. Damn storyline requirements. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/75 "2001-11-09T21:37:04Z")
I think in light of recent events, **Anwar Sadat** makes alot of sense. Some would argue that his assasination by militant Islamic fundamentalists played a critical role in shaping modern Mid-East society. Mubarak’s goverment and other regimes in the region cracked down hard on these militant groups after the assasination; abandoning civil rights, jailing suspected criminals without a trial for years sometimes, etc… These are the same people who now hate America for supporting the governments of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. With Sadat in power, perhaps he could have led the Arab world into a more peaceful co-existance with Israel and led the Arab world into modernity. Instead, the goverments of that region are tyrannical to any dissention and America and Israel are the only outlets or targets for the rage of many common citizens. ---
**Author:** ![tom\_servo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@tom\_servo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tom_servo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/76 "2001-11-10T22:25:26Z")
bill hicks. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2001, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212/77 "2001-11-12T11:35:30Z")
Can’t do it with just one person, it has to be a couple: Mark Antony and Cleopatra. I doubt if it would have made much difference in the Big Picture. After all, the Ptolemies made the Julio-Claudians look like the Cleavers. Still, if the Roman empire had to swing from republic to monarchy, might as well do it in grand style. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-person-who-would-it-be/86212.md?page=3)