Guy Fawkes (1570–1606) was one of a group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which is commemorated in Britain every 5 November as Guy Fawkes Night. He converted to Catholicism and fought for Spain in the Eighty Years' War against Protestant Dutch reformers in the Low Countries. In Spain he sought support for a Catholic rebellion in England, but the court of Philip III was unwilling to help him. He later met Thomas Wintour, returned to England, and was introduced to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords in Westminster Palace, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder that they stockpiled there. The authorities found Fawkes guarding the explosives. He was arrested and died after falling from the scaffold where he was to be hanged. (This article is part of a featured topic: Gunpowder Plot.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Gunpowder_Plot

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1828:

Greek War of Independence: The French Morea expedition (memorial pictured) to recapture Morea (now known as the Peloponnese) ended when the last Ottoman forces departed the peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea_expedition

1943:

World War II: An unknown aircraft dropped four bombs on Vatican City, which maintained neutrality during the war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_the_Vatican

1967:

A train derailed near Hither Green maintenance depot in London, killing 49 people and injuring 78 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hither_Green_rail_crash

2009:

U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, the worst shooting ever to take place on an American military base, killing 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fort_Hood_shooting

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

swole: 1. (chiefly African American Vernacular, slang) Having large, well- developed muscles; muscular. 2. (slang) Of the penis: erect; of a person: with an erection of the penis; aroused, hard. 3. (slang) Followed by up: upset; experiencing strong negative emotion. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/swole

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Americans who know nothing else about firearms are all too familiar with the name AR-15. It’s the semi-automatic weapon that murderers have used in many of the most notorious and highest-casualty gun killings of recent years: Aurora, Colorado. Newtown, Connecticut. Orlando, Florida. San Bernardino, California. Now, with modified versions, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Sutherland Springs, Texas … A little bullet pays off so much in wound ballistics. That is what people who choose these weapons know.   --James Fallows https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Fallows