Today in History

January 31, 1606

Guy Fawkes is Hanged

The infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was an attempt by a group of conspirators to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the House of Lords by blowing up the Palace of Westminster during the State Opening of Parliament. Fawkes and his fellow conspirators, supporters of a Catholic England, rented a cellar room underneath the House of Lords and filled it with more than 1,800 pounds of gunpowder. However, word of the plot leaked and the torch was actually snatched from Fawke's hands by a guard as he sought to light the fuse. After a round of torture to discover the names of the others, Fawkes was taken to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. Fawkes jumped from the scaffold at the last minute, breaking his neck before he could be further tortured. Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned on November 5th.

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