Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes, was an English Catholic, notorious for his involvement
in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He and few other men, all fellow Catholics, led by Robert
Catesby, planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne.
Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder stocked underneath the House of Lords,
ready to be blown up during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1605.
However, an evening before, Fawkes was discovered and captured red handed, laying in wait and
guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder. This lead to him being tortured and confessing to the gunpowder
plot. He was only found due to an anonymous letter being sent from someone in the group of Catholics
involved in the plan, warning Lord Monteagle to stay away from the House of Lords; prompting the
authorities to investigate. Soon after, all of the conspirators were captured and executed.
Since then, every 5th of November has been commemorated as Guy Fawkes Night
in the United Kingdom, where his effigy is traditionally
burned on a bonfire alongside fireworks and other celebrations.
In modern times, the face of Fawkes has been made into an iconic mask that features his
prominent moustache and goatee. The mask, which sometimes is associated with anarchism, is used
as an anti-government symbol of resistance and is often worn by people in protests. Guy Fawkes
is also remembered through a popular dystopian fiction film "V for Vendetta", released in 2005.