On this day in 1692: Five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, were executed in Salem, Mass., after being convicted of witchcraft.
While standing at the gallows, American Congregational pastor George Burroughs successfully recited the Lord’s Prayer, something that was determined by the courts to have been impossible for a witch or wizard to do. The stunned crowd became restless until Cotton Mather, a minister from Boston, reminded the crowd that Burroughs had been convicted in a court of law.
Burroughs’ execution was a contributing factor to the end of the hysteria, which resulted in the hanging of 19 people, including one man who was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt by the court to force him to plead guilty.
