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In one of the most infamous executions of the 21st century, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was hanged on December 30, 2006.
Socrates was a pioneering and prolific Greek philosopher who is widely credited with having founded Western philosophy. He was greatly admired by his followers.
Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI of France, was famously executed during the time of the French Revolution, which brought the previously powerful aristocracy to its knees.
The House of Romanov ruled Imperial Russia for more than 300 years from 1613. But their reign was brought to an abrupt end in 1917, when the whole family was shot dead by Bolshevik revolutionaries.
After being overthrown, he and his wife Elena fled the capital. They were quickly captured, however, and tried and convicted of economic sabotage and genocide. They were both executed by firing squad on December 25, 1989.
She was also charged with a number of crimes including treason and adultery, and it was this that led to her execution by beheading on May 19, 1536.
Joan of Arc is another prominent figure in French history who met a disastrous fate. Said to have been sent by God, Joan of Arc was taken to King Charles VII in 1428 to lead France to victory in the Hundred Years' War.
When it came to his execution day, Fawkes' neck broke as he was hanged. Some sources claim that he jumped, so as to avoid the full agony of his sentence.
Marie Antoinette was captured and made to suffer humiliation at the hands of her captors, before she was eventually executed by guillotine in 1793.
Many people at the time thought that the treatment of Walter Raleigh was unjust, a sentiment that survives today, despite the fact that the colonialist is no longer so popular as he once was.
Awoken in the middle of the night under the pretense that they were to be taken to a safe location, the family was jumped by a squad of secret police and brutally shot.
Convicted serial killer Ted Bundy was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989. Shortly before his death, he admitted to 30 murders, all of which he had previously denied.
Pierre Jean Marie Laval was a controversial French politician from the 20th century. He had many different political pursuits, one of which was heading up the Nazi collaborationist government of 1942-1944.
The former Iraqi leader was sentenced to death after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the Dujail massacre.
John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. He was executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994.
To this day, the murderer's victim total is unknown, but it is likely a lot higher than 30. One of the lawyers in his last defense team once described him as "the very definition of heartless evil."
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English explorer, most often associated with the country's colonization of North America. He was beheaded in 1618 for his alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow the king.
Perhaps the most famous of Henry VIII's six wives, Anne Boleyn is renowned in Tudor history for her inability to provide the King with a male heir.
When Mary, Queen of Scots was removed from her position as Queen of Scotland in 1567, she ran to her cousin Queen Elizabeth I of England for protection.
When the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 failed, English Catholic Guy Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for his involvement.
Gacy was known as the "Killer Clown" because of the charitable services he provided at fundraising events, parades, and children's parties.
Sources: (The Famous People) (Ranker)
See also: Famous individuals who were exhumed from their graves
Captured after a failed siege in Compiègne, Joan of Arc was jailed and charged with more than 70 crimes. At 19 years old, she was sentenced to death by burning.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was a Marxist revolutionary who played an important role in the Cuban Revolution. He was executed by the Bolivian army on October 9, 1967.
In 1945, he was executed by firing squad in France, after being found guilty of plotting against the security of the state and collaborating with the enemy.
Despite the controversy surrounding him, Che Guevara remains a hero in the eyes of many, acting as an important symbol of anti-imperialism and revolution.
Sensing a threat to her own right to reign, Queen Elizabeth I locked her cousin up and kept her there for some 18 years, before finally having her beheaded in 1587.
Unfortunately for Socrates, he was not so popular with everyone. Hated by the people of Athens, he was convicted of impiety and corrupting the youth. Ultimately he was sentenced to death by poisoning.
General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceauşescu was the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was overthrown in the revolution of 1989.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, can be defined as the state-sanctioned practice of executing a person as punishment for an actual or supposed crime. Although the death penalty is now illegal in most countries, this was not always the case. Indeed, there are many historical cases, some more recent than others, of prominent figures being executed.
Intrigued? Check out this gallery to find out which famous figures from history received the ultimate sentence.
The most famous executions in history
These important historical figures in history were put to death
LIFESTYLE Execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, can be defined as the state-sanctioned practice of executing a person as punishment for an actual or supposed crime. Although the death penalty is now illegal in most countries, this was not always the case. Indeed, there are many historical cases, some more recent than others, of prominent figures being executed.
Intrigued? Check out this gallery to find out which famous figures from history received the ultimate sentence.