Born in York in 1570, Fawkes was raised Protestant but converted to Catholicism in a time of fierce religious division. Seeking to defend his faith, he fought for Catholic Spain against Protestant forces and became skilled in warfare and explosives, skills that would seal his fate.

In 1604, he joined Robert Catesby’s plot to blow up Parliament and kill King James I, hoping to restore a Catholic monarchy. Fawkes was chosen to guard the gunpowder because of his military experience. Using the alias “John Johnson,” he waited in the cellars beneath the House of Lords until the night of November 4th, 1605, when authorities discovered him with matches and barrels ready.

After days of torture, Fawkes finally confessed, taking most of the blame for the entire conspiracy. When signing his "confession", he used his Italian name “Guido Fawkes”, which he changed to whilst fighting in Spain.

Fawkes and the eight surviving co-conspirators were tried for high treason on 27th January 1606 and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered on 30th and 31st January 1606. 

But Fawkes avoided the agony of disembowlment by leaping from the scaffold ladder and breaking his own neck.

Though others led the plot, it was his capture and silence that made him infamous.  His name became synonymous with rebellion. Over time, the traitor turned folk hero—his effigy burned each year, his face later immortalised as a symbol of defiance. Guy Fawkes may have failed, but his story still ignites every 5th of November.