October 21, 1555 - Bishops Latimer and Ridley Burned at Stake

Queen Mary I of England thought burning popular Anglican Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley at the stake would show people her seriousness in bringing England back to the Catholic Church. The opposite occurred, and the English Protestants vowed to support the Church of England. Just five days after Latimer and Ridley's execution, Mary ordered the execution and persecution of another 200 people (men, women, and children) on October 21,1555. Her nickname Bloody Mary came quite naturally after that. This is a picture of the monument at Oxford that commemorates the deaths of Ridley and Latimer.