.: The Story of the Guillotine
By:Sam Vaknin
Category:Home / Politics / History
The guillotine was first put to lethal use on April 25, 1792, at 3:30 PM, in Paris at the Place de Greve on the Right Bank of the Seine. It separated highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier's head from the rest of his body.
The device was perfected - though not invented- by Doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738 - 1814). The 'e' at the end of the noun is a later, British, addition. Ironically, he belonged to a movement seeking to abolish capital punishment altogether.
Guillotine-like implements were used on delinquents from the nobility in Germany, Italy, Scotland and Persia long before the good doctor's era. Guillotin and German engineer and harpsichord maker, Tobias Schmidt, improved and industrialized it. It was Schmidt who transformed the blade, changing it from round to the familiar form and placing it at an oblique, 45 degree, angle. The process of severing the head - the blade falling, cutting through the tissues and severing the head - took less than half a second. More than 40,000 people were guillotined during the French Revolution and in its immediate aftermath (1789-1795).
Nor was the guillotine abandoned after the French Revolution. As late as 1870, one Leon Berger, an assistant executioner and carpenter, added a spring system, which stopped the mouton at the bottom of the groves, a lock/blocking device at the lunette and a new release mechanism for the blade.
The murderer Hamida Djandoubi was beheaded on September 10, 1977, in Marseilles, France. The guillotine was never used since.
a.. Total weight of a Guillotine is about 580 kg
b.. The guillotine blade with weight is over 40 kg
c.. The heights of the guillotine posts average about 4 meters
d.. The guillotine blade drop is about 2.3 meters
e.. The falling blades rate of speed is about 7 meters/second
f.. The actual beheading was completed in 2/100 of a second
g.. The power when the guillotine blade stops at the bottom is 400 kg/square inch
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at samvak.tripod.com
.: New History Articles
1). History of Military Tanks Of WW I
This article is all about who built the first military tanks and why they built them.
2). The US Marine Corps: A Brief History Of The Marines
The original incarnation of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) was born in 1775 during the Continental Congress in a resolution sponsored by John Adams.
3). Remembering the Battle of Iwo Jima
When Joe Rosenthal snapped the iconic photograph, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, he knew it was a special sight, but probably never imagined the lengths the snapshot would travel in history.
4). First Defeat Of The Axis Powers On Land
This article is talking about how the Axis Powers got defeated in the first World War.
5). Hooray for Flag Day – why do we celebrate it on June 14?
What are the important dates in American Flag history?
• January 1, 1776, George Washington ordered the Grand Union flag hoisted above his base at Prospect Hill. It had 13 alternating red and white stripes and the British Union Jack (no stars) in the upper left-hand corner.
• May of 1776, Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag.
• June 14, 1777,.
6). Bizarre Flag Facts – Q & As
Test your Patriotic Knowlege of the American Flag:
Question: Is it ok to fly the American Flag upside down?
Answer: The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
Question: My flag was accidentally dropped and got dirty. Does it have to be destroyed?
Answer: The flag should never be allowed touch the ground, the floor or water.
7). In the footsteps of D Company 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry D-Day, 6 June 1944
On the 6 June 1944 the greatest seaborne invasion the world has ever known took place on the Calvados Coast of Normandy, France. This invasion was the beginning of the end of the Second World War and the 6 June 1944 will be forever known as D-Day. This article is an account of the first action that took place on D-Day at the Caen Canal and River Orne Bridges near Bénouville, France.
.: Top History Articles
1). Chavez's Inspiration - Simon Bolivar
Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) is a Latin American folk hero, revered for having been a revolutionary freedom fighter, a compassionate egalitarian and a successful politician. He is credited with the liberation from Spanish colonial yoke of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, a country named after him. Venezuela's new strongman, Hugo Chavez, renamed his country The Bolivarian republic of Venezuela to reflect the role of his "Bolivarian revolution".
2). The Popsicle - A Brief Overview
The Popsicle, referring to a frozen treat made of ice and flavoring on a stick, is the common name in the United States and Canada. If you were in England or other British territories, you would ask for an Ice-lolly. In Australia, it is referred to the icy pole when ordered.
The first Popsicle was created in 1905 by accident. Frank Epperson, 11 years old at the time, left a glass of soda powder and water outside with a mixing stick in it.
3). The Story of the Guillotine
The guillotine was first put to lethal use on April 25, 1792, at 3:30 PM, in Paris at the Place de Greve on the Right Bank of the Seine. It separated highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier's head from the rest of his body.
The device was perfected - though not invented- by Doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738 - 1814). The 'e' at the end of the noun is a later, British, addition.
4). History of Olmec Civilisation
A History of Olmec Civilization.
The first relatively modern awakening to the existance of the Olmecs
was when plantation workers in 1862 came upon hat they thought was a large, buried, iron kettle. Upon further excavation, and driven by thoughts of buried treasure, they finally excavated a huge stone carved head, which turned out to be the first Olmec sculpture to be discovered in Mexico.
5). Did Colorado Kill Doc Holliday
John Henry “Doc” Holliday’s final words, spoken as he lay dying in the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, were “this is funny”. We’ll never know, of course, exactly what the Wild West legend meant by this. Perhaps he found it ironic that after a life spent tempting death in the gambling dens of the American frontier, it was at last his 15-year long battle with tuberculosis that had killed him.
6). Dr. Walter Freeman's Frontal Lobotomies at Athens (Ohio) State Hospital
Few chapters in the medical history of Athens County, Ohio, are more notorious or fascinating than that concerning Walter Freeman, M.D., and the more than 200 frontal lobotomies he performed at the Athens State Hospital in seven visits between 1953 and 1957.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, treatment for most inpatients in large state hospitals, like that in Athens, was limited to providing a safe and humane environment.
7). History of Cocaine
History of Cocaine