1307
On April 1 1307, a guillotine like machine was used at the execution of Murcod Ballagh in an area near Merton in Ireland.
1400
A pre guillotine called the Halifax Gibbet was used in Halifax, England at executions on market days.
1564
The Maiden was used in Scotland. It was based on the Halifax Gibbet.
1789
On October 10 1789, the second day of the Assembly debate on the Penal Code, Dr. Guillotine proposed a death penalty where torture and decapitation were involved. He suggested that this should be the only form of capital punishment in France.
1791
On June 6 1791, the statement that "Every person condemed to the death penalty shall have his head severed" was approved by the Assembly.
1792
On April 10 1792, Roederer and Tobias Schmidt agreed that 960 francs would be a sufficient amount to cover the cost of manufacturing the guillotine. The cost included a leather bag to dispose of the severed head after the decapitation.
On Friday, April 11 1792, the first real guillotine was set up. It was tested on sheep and calves in the Cour du Commerce, rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts. The blade, however, was not oblique yet.
On April 15 1792, 3 cadavers from an old peoples home in Bicetre were successfully beheaded.
On April 16 1792, Dr. Guidon went to Bicetre to fix a new blade in position.
On April 4 1792, The guillotine was again tested on cadavers in Bicetre. It was tested on three cadavers from a military hospital. These cadavers were carefully chosen so that the Guillotine could be tested on strong men that had not been emaciated before their unfortunate demise.
On April 25 1792, the first actual execution was held. Sanson operated the guillotine at the execution of Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier.
On June 5 1792, Giraud suggested to Roederer that the grooves should be made of brass. He also suggested that the tongues and gudgeons should be made of iron. He stated that the hooks that attached the cords to the mouton should be bolted instead of nailed down.
On August 21 1792, The guillotine was set up at the place du Carroussel, where it stayed uninterrupted until May 7 1793.
1793
On January 1 1793, King Louis Capet was executed with a guillotine at the place de la Liberte.
1794
On June 9 1794, the guillotine was set up at the place de la Bastille. On June 11 it was moved to the Barriere du Trone.
1843
Nicolas Roch replaced Francois Desmorets as executioner at Lons-le-Saulnier.
1847
Louis Diebler became the first man to move from assistant executioner to executioner for all of France when he succeeded Clement Sanson.
1853
Nicolas Roch succeeded Henri Ganier as executioner at Amiens.
1854
On April 4 1854, Joseph Tussand returned to London with a guillotine that he had purchased from Clement Sanson. It was to become a part of the Tussands Waxworks.
1870
Leon Berger developed a new and improved guillotine. He created a spring system to stop the mouton at the bottom of the grooves. He also created a lock/blocking device at the lunette. He gave the guillotine a release mechanism for the blade.
1872
Nicolas Roch was executioner of Paris. He had five assistants, three of which were MM. Berger, Ganier and Desfourneaux.
1878
Roch added a wooden shield to the guillotine to mask the knife from the sight of the victim. When M.Diebler replaced Roch, he suppressed this device.
1879
Nicolas Roch was succeeded by Louis Deibler.
1898
Louis Deibler was succeeded by his son, Anatole Deibler.
1905
At 5:30 a.m. on June 28 1905, Languille was executed by means of decapitation.
1932
On May 7 1932, Andre Baillard received clemency just as Anatole Deibler's assistants had him strapped to the bascule. This was at the Sante prison.
1939
Anatole Deibler collapsed with a fatal heart attack in the metro station while setting off to the provinces for the execution of Pilorges.
On June 17 1939, Eugene Weidman became the last man to be executed publicly. He was decapitated outside of the prison of Versailles.
On June 24 1939, a law was passed that all executions in Paris were to take place in the yard of the Sante prison. No executions were allowed to be public.
1951
Andre Obrecht became executioner when the position fell vacant. He was chosen from more than four hundred applicants for the position.
1977
On September 10 1977, Hamida Djandoubi was executed. It was the last official use of the guillotine in France.
