This Day in History: 5 November 2020
5 November 1605
415 years ago, today, King James I learned that the Gunpowder Plot, a plan to explode the Parliament building, had been foiled, before he was scheduled to sit with the rest of the British government in a general parliament session. Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes lurking in a cellar under the Parliament building and ordered for the premises to be searched. Around 20 barrels of gunpowder were found, and Fawkes was taken into custody. During a torture session on the rack, Fawkes revealed that he was a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy to destroy the Protestant government and replace it with Catholic leadership.
During the next few weeks, English authorities killed or captured all the plotters and put the survivors on trial. Guy Fawkes was sentenced, along with the other surviving chief conspirators, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered in London. Moments before the start of his execution, in January 1606, he jumped from a ladder climbing to the hanging platform, breaking his neck and dying instantly. November 5 was later established as a day of public thanksgiving and is celebrated today as Guy Fawkes Day. As dusk falls, bonfires are lit, fireworks are set off, and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes take place.
Want to find out more about the history of Guy Fawkes Day? Click here for more information, or here for a video with more information.
