Dr Guillotin was an opponent of the death penalty who proposed the use of the machine (which was not his own personal invention) as an interim measure for killing convicts humanely whilst the death penalty still existed. He was mortified when his name became associated with the killing machine which became the symbol of the French Revolutionary Terror.
Also, the Dr Guillotin in question didn’t die on the guillotine (he almost did, but was released when Robespierre fell from power) He died of old age in 1814. However, another Dr Guillotin from Lyons was guillotined during the Reign of Terror. Both of these events lead to the misconception the ‘The’ Dr Guillotin was executed by his own ‘invention’...
Interesting ... thank you.