Daniel Defoe

It was on this day in 1703 that Daniel Defoe was made to stand in the pillory in front of the temple bar. 

The pillory was a stockade; the hands and head between two were stuck between two giant beams of wood. It was a horrible punishment. It was usually reserved for hideous crimes.
When Dafoe was convicted of treason, the crowds did their best to show their support; they threw flowers at his feet instead of mud.
The image of Defoe standing with his head and hands in the stocks surrounded by an adoring audience was memorialized in an 1862 painting.
In 1830, a biography of Defoe said that the stocks were adorned with garlands and that drinks were provided to celebrate Dafoe's release.