Halifax Gibbet- the earliest account of a guillotine used in history. It was a huge wooden structure made of two 15 ft. tall uprights connected by a horizontal beam. An ax head attached to a 4 ½ ft. block that slid on grooves up and down the uprights would be raised to the top and dropped. It may date back to around 1066, but the record of it being used was during the 1280’s. Executions were public and took place in the town’s market place on Saturdays.
The enlightenment thinkers Locke and Voltaire opposed the use of guillotines. Dr. Guillotin proposed the idea of the guillotine because it was a quick method of execution and involved no torture. He also proposed that executions should be private but his idea was rejected by the Assembly. His plan for the guillotine never gained the Assemblies approval.
Tobias Schmidt, a German engineer, built and tested the first actual guillotine. The first execution by guillotine occurred on April 25, 1792 when Nicholas-Jacques Pelletier, a highwayman, was killed. It was going to be called the ‘Louisette’ or ‘Louison’ after Dr. Louis but the name guillotine was decided upon since Dr. Guillotin proposed the idea earlier.
The guillotine would be used on virtually anybody: both males and females of any age, rich or poor. Equal treatment of the guillotine’s victims was expressed because of the new ideas of the Enlightenment period. The guillotine remained in use until April 30, 1650.
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