Guillotine

The Guillotine was invented by a Frenchman named Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin in the 1780s. The guillotine was invented to be a symbol of democracy and equality, though the public view changed soon after. Beheading machines were usually reserved for the nobility, but with this invention executions would take place in the same fashion for whoever, regardless of rank. After Dr. Guillotin had made the design for the Guillotine, he asked Tobias Schmidt, a German harpsichord maker and inventor, to construct the first model. Dr. Guillotin first tested the machine on 17 April, 1792. He decapitated straw, sheep and several corpses to ensure its function. The Guillotine was adopted as the official means of the execution of the French Republic on 20 March, 1792. It became known as the Guillotine, named after its creator. The descendants of Dr. Joseph Guillotin have since changed their last names. The first official execution by Guillotine in France was of a thief and assassin Jacques Nicolas Pelletier on 25 April, 1792. This was the start of the career of the Guillotine that would last in France for almost 200 years.