Joseph Guillotin

Joseph Guillotin was a French physician and politician in the 18th century who is best known for proposing a more humane method of execution. He did not invent the device but lent his name to the "guillotine," a machine designed to carry out executions quickly and with less suffering compared to previous methods. The guillotine became a symbol of the French Revolution and was used extensively during that period. Guillotin aimed to make capital punishment more humane, and his name remains associated with the device, which was widely used in France and beyond.