On 25 April 1792, the guillotine was used for the first time in France to execute convicted highwayman Nicolas Pelletier in Paris.
Designed as a more humane and egalitarian method of capital punishment, the guillotine became a chilling symbol of the French Revolution.
A large crowd gathered at Place de Grève to witness the new execution device in action, marking the beginning of its widespread use during the turbulent revolutionary period.
