WHO INVENTED THE GUILLOTINE?

It may surprise you to discover that anatomy professor Joseph-ignace Guillotin proposed the guillotine as a gentler method of execution. Guillotin believed that swift decapitation by a blade would be more humane than a sword or axe swung by an executioner. The first life to be officially claimed by a prototype guillotine occurred in France in 1792, designed by French doctor Antoine Louis.

This new form of execution was given the name guillotine after Guillotin’s recommendation. However, it’s believed that he was against capital punishment and was horrified by the device’s name. The guillotine was used until 1981 when the death penalty was abolished, during which time it became a major spectator event and was deemed high entertainment, with souvenirs sold at executions and programmes listing the names of those being executed that day. The guillotine even became a popular children’s toy, while novelty devices were sold as vegetable and bread slicers.

BEHIND THE BLADES Wheels Blade Restraint Mouton A piece of metal that secured the blade in place and offered extra weight to drive the blade as it fell. How does a guillotine work? Between the rope and the wooden frame, a series of wheels allowed the executioner to release and raise the blade. Made from steel, the angular blade had serrated edges. Together with the mouton, it weighed around 40 kilograms. The victim was held between two wooden slats, called a lunette, to secure the head in place. Declic This is the lever the executioner would pull to release the blade, to decapitate the victim.

The last public execution by guillotine in France occurred in 1939