Robert Catesby (1572?–1605) was the leader of the failed Gunpowder
Plot of 1605, commemorated in Great Britain every 5 November as Guy
Fawkes Night. His family were prominent recusant Catholics. He took part
in the Essex Rebellion of 1601 but was captured and assessed a large
fine, after which he sold his estate at Chastleton. The Protestant James
I became King of England in 1603; after he exiled priests and reimposed
fines on recusants, Catesby planned to kill him by blowing up the House
of Lords with gunpowder as a prelude to a revolt. Early in 1604 Catesby
began to recruit English Catholics to his cause, including Thomas
Wintour, John Wright, Thomas Percy, and Guy Fawkes. A letter sent
anonymously to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, alerted the
authorities, and on the eve of the planned explosion, during a search of
Parliament, Fawkes was found guarding the barrels of gunpowder, and
arrested. Catesby and the remaining plotters made a stand against a
200-strong company of armed men at Holbeche House in Staffordshire,
where he was shot and killed. As a warning to others, his body was
exhumed and his head exhibited outside Parliament.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Catesby>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1138:
Lý Anh Tông was enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt at the
age of two, starting a 37-year reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BD_Anh_T%C3%B4ng>
1898:
Filipinos on Negros Island revolted against Spanish rule and
established the short-lived Republic of Negros.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negros_Revolution>
1916:
An armed confrontation in Everett, Washington, US, between
local authorities and members of the Industrial Workers of the World
resulted in seven deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everett_massacre>
1983:
Five workers on the Byford Dolphin semi-submersible oil rig
were killed in an explosive decompression while drilling in the Frigg
gas field in the North Sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byford_Dolphin>
2009:
Major Nidal Malik Hasan of the United States Army went on a
shooting rampage at Fort Hood, the worst shooting ever to take place on
an American military base.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fort_Hood_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
squeezebox:
(music, informal) Synonym of accordion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/squeezebox>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love one another. My final lesson of history is the same as that
of Jesus. You may think that's a lot of lollipop but just try it. Love
is the most practical thing in the world. If you take an attitude of
love toward everybody you meet, you'll eventually get along.
--Will Durant
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Durant>