Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes, belonged to a group of Catholics who plotted to assassinate King James I in 1605 England.

They planned to blow up the House of Parliament while the Protestant king was opening the session, making way for a new government. Fawkes was put in charge of guarding the explosives, stored on the lover level.

Prompted by an anonymous tip, authorities discovered Fawkes there on the morning of Nov. 5 questioning and torturing him until he confessed the plan.

Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered on Jan. 31, 1606, but he jumped from the scaffold breaking his own neck moments before the execution. His head was placed on a stake on the London Bridge.

To commemorate Fawkes’ demise, the British celebrate each year with fireworks and bonfires, where all varieties of Fawkes effigies are burned.