Joseph-Ignace Guillotin 1738 – 1814

Biography

Joseph-Ignace Guillotin was born on May 28, 1738, in the town of Saintes, France. He devoted his life to the practice of medicine, serving his profession during a transformative period in French history. Throughout his career, he earned respect among his colleagues and in his community for his dedication to healing and medical knowledge.

Guillotin spent much of his adult life in Paris, where he remained active in his medical practice. He witnessed and lived through some of the most significant events of the late eighteenth century, establishing himself as a figure of note in French professional circles. His long life spanned from the height of the ancien régime through the Revolutionary period and into the early years of the nineteenth century.

On March 26, 1814, Guillotin passed away in Paris’s former 1st arrondissement at the age of seventy-five. He was laid to rest at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Ménilmontant, one of Paris’s most distinguished burial grounds. His final resting place reflects the esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries.