Doctor Guillotin & the Guillotine

On 26th March 1814, Dr Guillotin passed away. The poor man went down in history for the wrong reason! The subject of executions during my French Revolution Paris Walk or Online Journey brings up understandable reactions: who could not be appalled by a head being chopped off?

As always, the full picture is necessary to understand Dr Guillotin’s motivation in convincing the Assembly to adopt this machine as the sole way of executions.

First reason, prior to that, the social origin was a determining factor with regards to how the death sentence was applied: a sword for members of nobility while commoners were beheaded with an axe or a knife.

The crime that had been committed was the second determining factor: heretics were burned alive, money counterfeiters were boiled, thieves were hung, etc… In short, the guillotine made everyone equal before death. And it was so quick that it was painless!