Date With History: 1605

The Gunpowder Plot was a failed assassination attempt on King
James I, by a group of thirteen
disaffected Catholic conspirators,
led by Robert Catesby.

The plan to blow up the House of
Lords during the State Opening of
Parliament on November 5th was

intended as a prelude to a popular

revolt in the Midlands, where
Princess Elizabeth would then have

 been installed as the new Catholic 

head of state.

The plot was unearthed when Lord Monteagle was warned in an

anonymous letter not to attend

Parliament. The authorities then
searched the cellars beneath the House and discovered Guido Fawkes,
guarding thirty-six barrels of gunpowder.

Under the alias of John Johnson, Fawkes was tortured for two days in the 
Tower of London. His fellow plotters were eventually captured, and executed.

Following the trials, the 'Observance of 5th November Act' was passed, and commemorating the Plot became an annual and mandatory event. The law
was only repealed in 1859, but Bonfire Night is still marked in Britain with

firework displays.