1) In 1605, a group of Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby hatched a plan to blow up the English Parliament with gunpowder on November 5th, when the State Opening was scheduled. 2) The plotters rented a house near Parliament and began tunneling, but hit groundwater. They were eventually able to store 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar. 3) One of the plotters, Guy Fawkes, was left in charge of guarding the gunpowder but they were discovered when authorities searched the cellar after an anonymous warning letter.