Joseph Ignace Guillotin (* 28. May 1738 in Saintes, "† 26. March 1814 in Paris) was a French physician and politician. The execution machine Guillotine was designated after it.

Guillotin was first a professor of the literature in iris near college in Bordeaux, studied later in Reims and Paris medicine. It was one of the ten members of the Constituante of 2. May 1789, which served it from June 1789 until October 1791 as a secretary.

Ironically Guillotin was an opponent of the death penalty. At its time death penalties were implemented in cruel way (for example by burning, slopes or quartering). Only the aristocracy and for realms could a fast death, usually by sword or axe, buy. As a temporary solution, so long the death penalty existed, suggested Guillotin on 10 October 1789 a uniform execution form, with that a machine "painless beheaded". According to Guillotins conception should have been carried out the execution privately and willful. 1791 were issued its suggestion as law, after in France the death penalty should be only executed over such a machine. Guillotin did not take part in the development of the machine, which carries as far as today its names.

Guillotin was thrown by Maximilien de Robespierre in the prison. Only after the case Robespierres it was released. It was one of the first proponents of Edward Jenners inoculation and was a president of the committee for inoculation in Paris in the year 1805.

Guillotins family asked after its death to change the names of the execution machine. After the government had rejected this, the family changed its own name.

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