The Guillotine The Sharp Symbol of the French Revolution

On April 25, 1792, the guillotine was used for the first time in an official execution, introduced by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin during the French Revolution.

Designed to provide a quick, equal, and painless death, the guillotine embodied the revolution’s ideals of equality—ensuring that whether you were a noble or a peasant, you were executed in the same way.

It quickly became a symbol of both justice and fear. The first person to be executed by guillotine was a thief, Nicolas Jacques Pelletier, but soon, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and even Robespierre met their end under its blade.

Though Guillotin didn’t actually invent the device, his name became forever associated with it.

A tool of justice for some, terror for others—its legacy endures. The guillotine remained in use in France until 1977, with the death penalty abolished in 1981.