by Angela Donlon-Gatchell

Created on: August 18, 2008

Joseph Ignance Guillotin, the man who introduced a new way to approach the death penalty. Born May 28, 1738 the French Physician began his career with an essay that so impressed the Jesuits that they persuaded him to be a professor of literature at the Irish College at Bordeaux. A short few years later left to travel to Paris to study medicine.

1768 Guillotin earned a diploma from the Paris faculty: "Doctor-Regent". Dr. Guillotin rubbed elbows with Benjamin Franklin as well as others in 1784 when Frank Mesmer made public his theory of "animal magnetism", a theory which offended many. Louis XVI was so offended that he appointed a commission to investigate it, in which both Dr. Guillotin and Ben Franklin were appointed.

December of 1788 Dr. Guillotin wrote a pamphlet called "Petition of the Citizens Living in Paris" which was a proper constitution of States-General who was a legislative assembly of the different classes of the French. Because of this pamphlet, Guillotin was called to give his opinions to the French parliament.

He became one of 10 Paris deputies in the Assemblee Constituante on May 2, 1789. From June of 1789 to October of 1791 he as secretary to the assembly. As a member of the assembly he was able to focus his attention to medical reform.
October 10, 1789 was an infamous day in history. During a debate, Dr. Guillotin introduced his proposal to change capital punishment from the standard burning, mutilation, drowning, and hanging to decapitation. He stated, "the criminal shall be decapitated; this will be done solely by means of a simple mechanism." The definition of the "mechanism" was a "machine that beheads painlessly."

Dr. Guillotin was not in favor of the death penalty and hoped that providing a method that was less painful and more dignified would rid France of capital punishment. He also hoped that this method would decrease the numbers of family and children who came to witness the punishment. The Guillotin idea that Dr. Guillotin designed was not taken completely seriously by his colleagues; the idea of the head being painlessly removed from the trunk of the body. However, France saw it differently.

In 1791 a law was passed that everyone condemned to death in France should be decapitated. A surgeon by the name of Antoine Louis, Tobias Schmidt who was a German harpsichord maker, and executioner Charles Henri Sanson are the ones credited with the actual design of the prototype of the mechanism.

Years of terror reigned with the uprising of beheading. Capital Punishment still ran rapid and in later years science proved the painless part of execution was not so painless. In fact, the decapitated head knew that it was beheaded while it rolled into the basket. Apparently, "consciousness survives long enough for such a perception."

Dr. Guillotin passed away of natural causes March 26, 1814 but not without being a great supporter of Edward Jenner's discover of vaccinations in regards to the smallpox vaccine. Dr. Guillotin's family was embarrassed of him being known for the guillotine and opted to change their name. Unfortunately no one remembers him for his support and medical understanding of the vaccines which have saved too many lives to truly count.

Sources:
http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm12 275.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/24 8763/Joseph-Ignace-Guillotin
http://freemasonry.bcy.c a/biography/guillotin_j/guillotin_j.html

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