Decapitation by design: the horrifying history of the guillotine

The guillotine was invented in the 1790s by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician and member of the National Assembly.

The device was designed to be a more humane method of execution than the previous methods, which often involved lengthy and painful forms of torture.

The guillotine was also intended to be more egalitarian, as it was supposed to ensure that all condemned individuals, regardless of their social status, would be executed swiftly and without suffering.

The guillotine was a simple yet effective device. The victim would be positioned with their neck on a wooden platform, and a heavy blade would be dropped from above, severing the head from the body.

The device was initially met with skepticism, but it soon proved to be an efficient method of execution, with the ability to dispatch multiple individuals in a single day.

The use of the guillotine became widespread during the Reign of Terror, a period of extreme violence and political repression that lasted from 1793 to 1794.

The Revolutionary Tribunal, which was responsible for trying and executing enemies of the Revolution, used the guillotine as its primary method of execution.

During this time, thousands of people were executed, including King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.

The use of the guillotine was not limited to the Reign of Terror, however. It continued to be used throughout the French Revolution and in the years that followed.

The device became a symbol of the Revolution, and its image was used on coins, medals, and other official documents. It also became the subject of many artistic works, including paintings and literature.

Despite its reputation as a brutal weapon of the French Revolution, the guillotine remained in use in France until 1977, when it was finally abolished.

The last person to be executed by guillotine in France was Hamida Djanoubi, who was executed on September 10, 1977.

Today, the guillotine is remembered as a symbol of the violence and upheaval of the French Revolution.

While its use was intended to be more humane than previous methods of execution, it ultimately became associated with the indiscriminate violence of the Revolution, and remains a powerful reminder of the dangers of unchecked political power.