Mata Hari Executed by Firing Squad: The Most Famous Spy
French authorities executed Mata Hari by firing squad after a trial where she faced accusations of causing 50,000 soldier deaths through espionage for Germany. Decades later, unsealed German documents confirmed she served as agent H-21 under Captain Hoffmann, yet the specific intelligence she transmitted remains debated among historians. Her execution stands as a stark reminder that wartime justice often relied on circumstantial evidence and political necessity rather than definitive proof of guilt.
October 15, 1917
109 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 15
Belisarius entered Carthage on foot, leading his army through the gates the Vandals had abandoned. He'd recaptured North Africa for Byzantium in a single campai…
Boson devient roi de Bourgogne.
Edgar the Ætheling was proclaimed King of England after Harold died at Hastings. He was fifteen, the last male member of the royal house. He was never crowned. …
The Witan proclaims Edgar the Ætheling king after Harold II falls at Hastings, yet this coronation remains a hollow gesture since they never crown him. Edgar co…
Henri Ier est reconnu duc de Normandie.
Der Kölner Erzbischof Dietrich I. von Hengebach legt den Grundstein für die als Fliehburg vorgesehene Godesburg.
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