Who invented the guillotine?

Question

Do you know what it was originally called. If you do then I would deffinately say you are 5*****.

Answer 1

The device derives its name from Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French doctor and member of the Revolutionary National Assembly, on whose suggestion it was introduced. Dr. Guillotin proposed the use of a mechanical device to carry out the death penalty. The basis for his recommendation is believed to have been his perception that it was a humane form of execution, contrasting with the methods used in pre-revolutionary, ancien régime (old regime) France.... The guillotine was adopted as the official means of execution on 20 March 1792.

Antoine Louis (1723–1792), member of the Académie Chirurgicale, developed the concept put forward by Guillotin, and it was from his design that the first guillotine was built. The guillotine was first called louison or louisette, but the press preferred guillotine as it had a nicer ring to it. Antoine Louis (and perhaps others) introduced several improvements over the guillotine's ancestors, notably the characteristic angled blade and the lunette — the two-part circular collar that held the victim's head in place.

Answer 2

Guillotine, Play this Pronunciation. «GIHL uh teen», was a beheading machine. It became the official instrument of execution in France in 1792, during the French Revolution. The device was named for Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814), a member of the Revolutionary assembly. He regarded the device as a quick and merciful type of execution. A guillotine had two posts joined by a crossbeam at the top. A heavy steel knife with a slanting edge fit in grooves in the posts. A cord held the knife in place. When the executioner cut the cord, the knife dropped and cut off the victim's head. Ancient Persians are said to have had a similar machine. The Italians and the Scots also had beheading machines. It was not until 1981, when France abolished capital punishment, that the use of the guillotine ended.

Answer 3

According to:
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/operaghost/guillotine.html

It was a Dr. Louis.
Other names for the guillotine are listed at the bottom of the article, though none of the names in the list seem to predate "guillotine".

Quite a few sites say it was invented by a Dr. Guillotin, but the following website says it was named in honor of Dr. Guillotin because the good doctor said it was a more humane way to execute somebody than the usual methods. The inventor is named as **Antoine Louis** in this citation. The article also says that the original name was louisette or louison, named after its inventor, but was changed.

Answer 4

Mr Joe Guillotine

Answer 5

There were many beheading machines in existence before the French Revolution. Two in the UK were the Halifax Gibbet and the Edinburgh Maiden.

There were different forms of execution in France before the revolution including hanging, beheading and breaking on the wheel. Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin recommended the use of a beheading machine to bring equality to all. It was intended to be a fast and humane way of killing people. It was eventually named after him but he didn't invent it.

Answer 6

Dr. Guillotin, french doctor during the french revolution. It was conceived as a humane, and quick, method of execution. It was also meant to democratize execution. Prior to the revolution only royality were executed by beheading, it was considered to good for the peasants, which were hung.
In an act of poetic justice, Dr. Guillotin was beheaded by his own device during the French terror when the revolutionaries devoured their own.

Answer 7

Guillotin, a french doctor, he finish head cutting by... his guillotine !D
lol

Answer 8

I thought it was guillotine himself. But there may have been someone before him, cant remember

Answer 9

From a guy in France that invented it.....it's named after him. It is supposed to be a more humane way of beheading someone.

Answer 10

GKJ has given you good answer butt here were forerunners used in England. Two places as I recall one was Halifax. They did much the same job in the same way but were not so sophisticated