Despard Plot

Plot 1802 led by Irish conspirator Edward M Despard (1751–1803) to seize the Tower of London and the Bank of England and assassinate King George III. The affair embarrassed the government not so much because of the seriousness of the plot itself, but because Admiral Nelson spoke in defence of the conspirators. Despard was executed on 21 February 1803. He and his fellow conspirators were the last people in England to be sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.