june 28 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated

[Rye Miles #13621]

It started WW 1

 

https://www.biography.com/political-figures/franz-ferdinand

[Subdeacon Joe]

Which led to WWII and the Cold War. 

 

ADDED:

You could make a pretty good case that if not for WWI the Great October Socialist Revolution could not have been successful,  and the Soviet Union would not have existed. 

Edited June 29, 2025 by Subdeacon Joe

[DocWard]

An interesting tidbit. I obtained my history minor from Ohio Wesleyan University. One of the history professors there that I studied under briefly was Dr. Robert Kragalott, who got his PhD from the University of Belgrade, where he studied under Vaso Čubrilović, one of the assassination conspirators. Unfortunately, Dr. Kragalott was advancing in years and having heart trouble during my time, and needed to retire about about halfway through the semester. From his fire even then, I would have loved to have taken courses from him when he was younger and healthier.

[Dawg Hair, SASS #29557]

12 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Which led to WWII and the Cold War. 

 

ADDED:

You could make a pretty good case that if not for WWI the Great October Socialist Revolution could not have been successful,  and the Soviet Union would not have existed. 

The "what if's" are always overcome by "what did's"

[Subdeacon Joe]

17 minutes ago, Dawg Hair, SASS #29557 said:

The "what if's" are always overcome by "what did's"

 

It's also a way of showing how something has unexpected consequences.  
Of course, you can also argue that eventually something like it would have happened because of the fecklessness and obliviousness of the Russian Tzar and nobility.

[DocWard]

21 hours ago, Dawg Hair, SASS #29557 said:

The "what if's" are always overcome by "what did's"

 

Sure, but we know the "what did" part. I've often enjoyed bits of alternate history and discussing and debating what may have happened. Civilly, of course.