Joseph Ignace Guillotin
| Joseph-Ignace Guillotin | |
|---|---|
Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (Musée Carnavalet, Paris)
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| Born |
28 May 1738 Saintes, France |
| Died | 26 March 1814 (aged 75) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Nationality | French |
| Education |
Irish College, Bordeaux Reims University University of Paris |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Proposing a painless method for executions, inspiring the guillotine |
Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (French pronunciation: [ɡijɔtɛ̃]; 28 May 1738 – 26 March 1814) was a French physician, politician and freemason who proposed on 10 October 1789 the use of a device to carry out death penalties in France, as a less painful method of execution. Although he really did not invent the guillotine, and in fact opposed the death penalty, his name became an eponym for it. The actual inventor of the prototype was a man named Antoine Louis.
Guillotin wrote an essay to get the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Bordeaux. This essay impressed the Jesuits so much that they persuaded him to enter their order and he became a professor of literature at the Irish College at Bordeaux. However, he left after a few years and travelled to Paris to study medicine, becoming a pupil of Antoine Petit. He gained a diploma from the faculty at Reims in 1768 and later won a prize given by the Paris faculty, the title of Doctor-Regent.
In 1784, when Franz Mesmer began to publicize his theory of "animal magnetism", which was considered offensive by many, Louis XVI appointed a commission to investigate it and Guillotin was appointed a member, along with Benjamin Franklin and others.
In December 1788, Guillotin drafted a pamphlet entitled Petition of the Citizens Living in Paris, concerning the proper constitution of the States-General. As a result, he was summoned by the French parliament to give an account of his opinions, which served to increase his popularity. On 2 May 1789, he became one of 10 Paris deputies in the Estates-General of 1789 and was secretary to the body from June 1789 to October 1791.
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