Today, historian Cathy Patterson asks us to "Remember, remember,
the fifth of November. The University of Houston presents this
series about the machines that make our civilization run, and
the people whose ingenuity created them. A shadowy group of
conspirators, guided by a charismatic leader, seethes with
religious fervor and grievance against government. In utmost
secrecy, they hatch a plot to bring catastrophic damage upon the
centers of authority. They intend, with one dramatic action, to
to strike both a symbolic and a very real blow to the halls of
power. A description of Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 plotters?
No, this scenario took place 400 years ago in London. November
5, 2005 marks the anniversary of the so-called Gunpowder Plot,
and that date is remembered every year in England with Guy
Fawkes Day. The plotters attempted to blow up the members of
Lords and Commons, as well as the King, on the State Opening Day
of Parliament. Deep religious divisions -- fallout from the
Protestant Reformation -- pr