Sir Thomas More beheaded for treason

On July 6, 1535, former Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More was beheaded in London after being convicted of treason against King Henry VIII.

More had not supported the King’s policy toward the church or his marriage to Anne Boleyn, had refused to swear to the Act of Succession, and had similarly declined to take the Oath of Supremacy. His last words before execution are said to have been “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

US signed peace treaty with Germany ending World War I

On August 25, 1921, the United States, which never ratified the Versailles Treaty ending World War I, finally signed its own peace treaties with Germany, Austria and Hungary.

Former East Germany leader convicted of manslaughter for Berlin Wall policy

On August 25, 1997, Egon Krenz, the former of East Germany was convicted of manslaughter for promulgating a policy of shooting any East Germans who attempted to cross the Berlin Wall. Krenz was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, of which he served four before being released into retirement from political life.