On September 10, 1977, the last execution by guillotine in France was carried out in Marseille prison.
The executed man was of Arab origin and his name was Hamid Jandoubi. He was convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl.
This was the last beheading in Europe. On October 9, 1981, the death penalty in France was abolished.
In France, the guillotine was used from 1792 to 1977, as the only method of execution in the country.
Historians believe that in the first ten years, about 15,000 people were beheaded with its help during the French Revolution.
Centuries later, the Nazis in Germany used it more, guillotining over 40,000 criminals between 1938 and 1945.
Joseph Guillotin is considered the father of the guillotine. However, we must admit that the main role was played by Dr. Antoine Louis, famous for his work on surgery. He made a sketch of the machine, and the transformation of the drawing into a real mechanism was the work of the German mechanic Tobias Schmidt. The latter consulted the professional opinion of the famous executioner of Paris - Henri Sanson.
On March 21, 1792, the new machine was approved by the National Assembly of France as the official device for carrying out death sentences.
The first execution by guillotine took place on April 25, 1792 in Paris, and the victim was the murderer Jean Nicolas Pellitier.