julius caesar
the decline and ruin of a great empire began with his death
always wonder what other feats he would have accomplished
to die at the hands of a friend is not a heroes death and he was a hero
Everybody knows that the best thing to do is give a young Robert Heinlein an injection of antibiotics to cure his tuberculosis. With his navy career saved, Admiral Heinlein would have kicked the Russki’s butts, have solar power satelites for everyone, and the ongoing exploration of Mars would still be going strong.
[sub]OK, Larry Niven had the idea first[/sub]
I second Vinnie’s nomination: Bobby Kennedy. The one guy it hurt the most to lose. America would have been a great country with him around.
I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned Martin Luther King.
My mistake. Apologies to Violet.
Y’know, I think the answer is obvious here: Rasputin.
OK, he’s certainly not a saint. He’s really more of a scumbag. But just imagine the faces of all those plotters when the Unkillable Monk strides back into the Czar’s palace with a big grin on his face, fresh from the bottom of the river, and proceeds to seduce farmgirls once more with his wily ways. That kind of photograph is what makes time travel priceless.
Three words:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dale Earnhardt.
Just so he’d beat that Jeff Gordon bastard in this year’s championship which he (Jeff) seems almost certain to win, and also to spare us from those stupid “silent 3rd laps” every week (which, heaven help us, are now dedicated to the victims of the Sept. 11th attacks…)
To the person who suggested Matthew Shepard – shouldn’t this poll exclude people who are only famous for, well, dying?
I would save George W. Bush. His assassination on Oct 12 plunged this nation and the whole world into chaos. If only he had survived to lead the war on terrorism. . .
What? . . . He wasn’t killed? Some time-traveller must have had the same idea and saved him. Good!
Never mind.
Imagine the farmgirls’ faces when they discover that Prince Yussupov had severed Rasputin’s most important seductive tools . . .
Jazz Saxaphonist, Charlie “bird” Parker, Creator of be-bop style Jazz with Dizzie Gillespe and Miles Davis . Died at 34. An untouchable genius.
Julius Caesar? He was the CAUSE of the decline of the Roman Empire! By allowing it to go from a Republic to a dictatorship run by a variety of kleptocrats and incompetants (except Augustus).
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).
That is, assuming that Spock doesn’t evaporate when he goes through the portal because time has changed.
Christopher Marlowe, and not for strictly selfish reasons. He was a master of his art; he gave us Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus, Edward II, Massacre at Paris, and my personal favorite, The Jew of Malta. His early poetry was beautiful, as well.
Marlow laid the groundwork for what became Elizabethan drama. He was born the same year as Shakespeare, but emerged as a playwright (with the Lord’s Admirals, the best acting troupe in England) about a decade before Shakespeare. He was killed at 29 - stabbed in the eye with a knife so that he wouldn’t be tried for atheism. But had he lived! I can’t imagine what works he might have written. Although what he and Shakespeare wrote was inherently different, it would have been interesting to study their later works side by side. I’m sure Marlowe had much more genius inside of him. And for personal reasons, I would love to read more of his works.
Because Marlowe’s influence, we were given Jonson, Congreve, and Goldsmith. Had he been given the chance to evolve as a writer, I can’t imagine all of the greater repercussions his works would have had.
I would love to save him and then make him live until the Restoration in 1660, so that he could see women play Dido, Venus, and Juno. I bet that would have been a thrill.
A girl can dream.
schplebordnik wrote:
Don’t underestimate Spock’s Vulcan strength and reflexes. Or that dreaded Vulcan Nerve Pinch maneuver of his.
I thought you could only evaporate by not going through the portal (and, in fact, being outside the sphere of influence of the Guardian of Forever) when the timeline changes.
For my money, it’s Ron Goldman. Wrong place. Wrong time.
Seriously:
Political: William Henry Harrison. HE NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO SHINE!
Entertainment: The little girl from Poltergeist. That was just sad.
Pop Culture:Kurt Cobain, so everyone wouldn’t make ANY comparrison between him and John Lennon.
Historical: Davey Crockett. I can’t remember where he died, but I think it had one heck of a basement.
Sports: Though Gerhig is a great choice, I’d loved to have seen Jackie Robinson live longer and help with Civil Rights after MLK’s death. He died in 1972 at the age of 53. WAY too young for this great pioneer.
My father.
Two more:[list][]Alexander the Great - Died at age 33, just after assembling his empire. It would have been interesting to see what he would have done with it, and whether he could have successfully ruled it.[]Hank Williams - Most country singers don’t hit their stride until mid-life. Hank died at 29.
I left my bicycle there.
Two things, first of all the decadence had already started many years before, Sila? Mario? the Graco brothers? years of civil war had destroyed the Roman Republic and it’s pieces were left to dirty politicians like your friend Julio Cesar.
Second the empire was inagurated by his nephew Octaviano I think that in the year 27 BC. I would save the last Cesar Constantino Paleologo. Nothing would change but he really was a hero, to his las breath he fought for his city and his people