January 10, 1645 - Archbishop William Laud Beheaded

When William Laud became Archbishop of Canterbury (and therefore head of the Church of England), few were surprised. He was an astute politician who was able to ascend the church ranks quite quickly. He taught that the King of England had the divine right to rule England because Charles I was God’s chosen one. William wanted to enforce more stringent rules on the nation, and he declared that the Scotch Presbyterians must use the Book of Common Prayer, and he also told the Puritans that they must begin to follow church structure as he defined it. Both groups pushed on this, and Parliament was called to meet. A bill was introduced claiming that Laud was subverting Protestantism in England, and because of this, he was beheaded in the Tower of London on January 10, 1645.