Guy Fawkes Born April 13th 1570 Executed January 31st 1606, was an Elizabethan nobleman, adventurer, and politician who became involved in the infamous Gunpowder Plot. The plot attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November 1605. Although Fawkes was a relatively minor player, he was to have lit the fuse but was instead caught in the act. This achieved his notoriety and he became, by association, historys most memorable character of the Plot.

The character of Guy Fawkes is inseparable from November 5th which is today known variously as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night.

Guy Fawkes Night, also called Bonfire Night, is an annual celebration (but not a public holiday). The celebrations, which in the United Kingdom take place in towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires, on which "guys", or dummies, representing Guy Fawkes, the most infamous of the conspirators, are burnt.