15 October 1917: Mata Hari, the Malay stage name of Dutch exotic dancer & courtesan Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle, 1876-1917), was executed in France as a spy for Germany, after a trial in which her lawyer was not allowed to cross-examine prosecution witnesses; she did work for France's Deuxième Bureau, but there is no direct evidence she was a double agent for Germany.
Lest we forget.
Bonus! Song o' the Day
The Atomic Fireballs, "Mata Hari" from Torch This Place (The Last Angry Man)
Commentary: "Mata Hari" could be denounced as sensationalism that bears little resemblance to the life & death of Margaretha Zelle, who for whatever her sins almost certainly did not merit execution as a German spy, or it could be prized as an entirely appropriate supplement to this episode of "The Explorers' Club," a token of Mata Hari's enduring place in popular culture, a century after her demise.
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