COUNTDOWN TO NOVEMBER 5TH

November 5th

Remember, remember the fifth of November — Bonfire Night marks the failure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot with bonfires and fireworks.

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Next: Thursday, November 5, 2026.

What Makes This Day Special

November 5th
Significance

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Guy Fawkes Day & Bonfire Night

Bonfire Night commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes was caught guarding barrels of gunpowder — traditionally said to be 36 — in a cellar beneath the House of Lords on the night of November 4–5, 1605. The Catholic conspirators had planned to kill the Protestant King James I at the State Opening of Parliament. In 1606 Parliament passed an act making November 5 an annual day of thanksgiving; the act was repealed in 1859, but the bonfires and fireworks endured. Many large public displays are held on the nearest weekend.

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The Famous Rhyme

"Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot; I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." This traditional rhyme has long been recited on Bonfire Night. Children once made a "guy" — an effigy of Fawkes — and asked passers-by for "a penny for the guy" before it was burned on the bonfire. The night was long tinged with anti-Catholic feeling, but today it is largely a community celebration.

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Cultural Icon

Guy Fawkes has become an unlikely symbol of rebellion. The stylized, smiling mask drawn by artist David Lloyd for "V for Vendetta," the comic he created with writer Alan Moore and first serialized in 1982, became widely recognized after the 2005 film adaptation and was later adopted by the Anonymous collective and protesters around the world. In Britain, the night is still marked with toffee apples, treacle toffee and parkin.

Historical Events

This Day
in History

1605

The Gunpowder Plot Foiled

Guy Fawkes was arrested in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords around midnight, after an anonymous letter warning Lord Monteagle to stay away from Parliament set off searches. Though Fawkes became the plot's best-known face, the scheme was led by Robert Catesby. Under interrogation and torture authorized by the King, Fawkes eventually named his fellow conspirators. He was convicted of high treason and died on the scaffold in January 1606.

1688

William of Orange Lands at Brixham

William of Orange landed at Brixham in Torbay, Devon, with a Dutch invasion force on November 5, 1688 (Old Style). His arrival set off the Glorious Revolution: King James II fled to France, and in 1689 William and his wife, Mary, were offered the English throne jointly.

1872

Susan B. Anthony Casts a Ballot

Women's rights leader Susan B. Anthony voted in the U.S. presidential election in Rochester, New York, along with a group of other women, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment gave them the right. She was arrested weeks later, convicted in 1873 and fined $100 — a fine she refused to pay. Women nationwide won the vote with the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

1940

Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected to Third Term

Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Wendell Willkie to become the only U.S. president elected to a third term, breaking the two-term tradition dating back to George Washington. With war raging in Europe, he argued for continuity of leadership. He won a fourth term in 1944 and died in office in April 1945; the Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, now limits presidents to two elected terms.

1912

Woodrow Wilson Elected President

Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the presidency after former President Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive "Bull Moose" campaign split the Republican vote with incumbent William Howard Taft. Wilson took about 42% of the popular vote but 435 of 531 electoral votes. He went on to lead the country through World War I and champion the League of Nations.