Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
1738-1814
French physician who, during the French Revolution, proposed decapitation by a mechanical device as a more humanitarian means of executing criminals than the torture then in use. Such mechanisms were used in Europe until about 1700 to execute nobles; Guillotin simply advocated their revival and more egalitarian use. Adopted in 1792, the device quickly became the symbol of the "Reign of Terror." The public named it the guillotine, an "honor" Guillotin abhorred since he neither invented it nor approved of its use against political enemies.
More From encyclopedia.com
device , de·vice / diˈvīs/ • n. 1. a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, esp. a mechanical or electronic contrivance: a measuring device. ∎ an exp… servomechanism , servomechanism Device that provides remote control to activate a mechanism. An input signal, such as a radio impulse or mechanical movement, converts… Propeller , propeller •Allah, calla, Caracalla, Haller, inshallah, pallor, Valhalla, valour (US valor), Whyalla •gabbler, tabla •ambler, gambler, rambler, scramb… mechanical , mechanical •cackle, crackle, grackle, hackle, jackal, mackle, shackle, tackle •ankle, rankle •Gaskell, mascle, paschal •tabernacle • ramshackle •débâ… Mechanics , New Inventions . The Banu Musa (Sons of Moses), whose books on geometry aroused so much interest in the ninth century, also wrote extensively on the… spring (mechanical) , spring Mechanical device designed to be elastically compressed, extended or deflected. It may be used to store energy, absorb shock, or maintain cont…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin