Guillotin

1st February 2002, 12:00am

Share

Guillotin

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/guillotin
When the former Jesuit priest Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin invented his “humane” beheading machine, little did he know that his name would become synonymous with one of the world’s most famous killing machines, or that it would be used so willingly during the French Revolution. He believed that his quick and apparently painless device would be the most humane way to kill convicts before their bodies were used for medical research.

This and other intriguing tales of medical history can be found at www.historyworld.net. You can take timeline tours of birth, death, drugs, hospitals, plagues, surgery and technology which cover everything from the Hippocratic Oath to the Human Genome Project.

History World is the brainchild of former University Challenge question master Bamber Gascoigne, who launched the free website last year. The extensive medical history strand has been written by historian Carole Reeves with support from the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared