Brother Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1728-1814), a French physician, was a founding member of the Grand Orient of France, a member of the famed Lodge of the Nine Sisters in Paris and Master of Concorde Fraternelle Lodge in 1719. He also founded the French Academy of Medicine. Legend has it he invented the guillotine and was eventually executed by the device. Neither is true. Brother Guillotin did, however, suggest death for the condemned should be as speedy and painless as possible, leading to the machine's invention and name. By coincidence another doctor, J.M.V. Guillotin from Lyons, met his death by guillotine and the similarity of name and profession led to the confusion with Brother Guillotin, who died of natural causes at home in Paris.
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