The actual inventor of the prototype was a man named Tobias Schmidt, working with the king's physician, Antoine Louis.

Legend has it that he was born prematurely because his mother was in distress after hearing the screams of a man being tortured to death on the breaking wheel.

The essay that he wrote to earn the degree impressed the Jesuits so much that they invited him to become a professor of literature at the Irish College in Bordeaux.

He gained a diploma from the faculty at Reims in 1768 and his doctorate at the School of Medicine in Paris in 1770,[2] which also gave him the title of Doctor-Regent.

[1] In 1784, when Franz Mesmer began to publicize his theory of "animal magnetism", which was considered offensive by many, Louis XVI appointed a commission to investigate it and Guillotin was appointed a member, along with Jean Sylvain Bailly, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, Antoine Lavoisier, and Benjamin Franklin.

[1] In December 1788, Guillotin drafted a pamphlet entitled Petition of the Citizens Living in Paris, concerning the proper constitution of the Estates-General.

The French parliament attempted to suppress his pamphlet and summoned him to give an account of his opinions, but the crowd during his testimony was very much in support of him, and he was released, which served to increase his popularity.

Additionally, beheading was reserved for the nobility, while commoners were typically hanged, which could take a long time, as the techniques whereby the victim's neck was broken by the noose had not yet been invented.

[citation needed] Despite this proposal, Guillotin was opposed to the death penalty,[7] and hoped that a more humane and less painful method of execution would be the first step towards total abolition.

He also hoped that, as the decapitation machine would kill quickly without prolonged suffering, this would reduce the size and enthusiasm of crowds that often witnessed executions.

"[4] The statement quickly became a popular joke, and a few days after the debate a comic song about Guillotin and "his" machine circulated, forever tying his name to it, despite the fact that he was not at all involved in its design or construction.

[citation needed] He was freed from prison in the general amnesty of 9 Thermidor (27 July) 1794 after Robespierre fell from power.

[10] His continued efforts to abolish the death penalty were hampered by the widespread belief that as the very person who proposed using a decapitation machine he must surely be in favour of it.