Today in history - 1917

Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy, is sentenced to death in France for spying on Germany's behalf.

She first came to Paris in 1905 and found fame as a performer of exotic Indian-inspired dances. She soon began touring all over Europe, telling the story of how she was born in a sacred Indian temple and taught ancient Indian dances by a priestess who gave her the name Mata Hari, meaning "eye of the dawn." In reality, Mata Hari was born in a small town in northern Holland, and her real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle. Regardless of her authenticity, she packed dance halls from Russia to America, largely because of her willingness to dance almost entirely naked in public.

She was also a famous courtesan, and with the outbreak of World War I her catalog of lovers began to include high-ranking French officers. In February 1917, French authorities arrested her for espionage, and in July she was found guilty and sentenced to death. On October 15, she was executed by a French firing squad at the Vincennes barracks outside of Paris. Evidence against Mata Hari remains inconclusive--her only crimes may have been an elaborate stage fallacy and a weakness for men in uniform.