| French doctor Date of Birth: 28.05.1738 Country: France |
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician and inventor, became inadvertently associated with the infamous guillotine, a device named after him but which he had only a tangential connection to.
Born in 1738, Guillotin obtained his master's degree through a dissertation presented to the University of Bordeaux. His work impressed the Jesuits, who recruited him into their order. After a brief stint as a professor of literature at the Irish College of Bordeaux, Guillotin relocated to Paris to study medicine under Antoine Petit. In 1768, he became a licensed physician and later earned the prestigious title of Doctor-Regent in Paris.
In 1784, Franz Mesmer introduced his theory of "animal magnetism," which sparked controversy. Louis XVI formed a commission, including Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Guillotin, to investigate its claims.
Guillotin gained public attention in 1788 for a pamphlet criticizing the structure of the Estates-General. He subsequently served as a delegate to the Estates-General in 1789 and was appointed as its secretary. During the debate on capital punishment on October 10, 1789, Guillotin proposed the use of a simple machine for beheading, arguing that it would be more humane and instantaneous than traditional methods.
The development of the guillotine fell to Antoine Louis and the executioner Charles-Henri Sanson, who based their design on Guillotin's proposal but borrowed from existing devices. Guillotin's name became synonymous with the machine, but he had limited involvement in its creation. During the Reign of Terror, Guillotin was arrested for refusing to cooperate with authorities and imprisoned. He was released after Robespierre's fall in 1794 and retired from politics, devoting himself to medicine.
Contrary to popular legend, Guillotin did not die by guillotine. He passed away from natural causes in 1814. The erroneous belief that he met such a fate may be attributed to the existence of at least one namesake who was executed via guillotine.
Guillotin's legacy is a complex one. While he did not invent the guillotine, his proposal sparked a debate about the humaneness of capital punishment. The guillotine itself became a symbol of revolutionary violence, but Guillotin's ultimate goal was to abolish capital punishment, not promote it.