Dr. Joseph Guillotin knew executions were a fact of life in the turbulent days of the French Revolution. He felt it was important for death sentences to be as quick and painless as possible, so he encouraged French officials to use a machine then called the "Louison" or "Louisette" (after its inventor, Antoine Louis), which he thought was more humane than other methods. Guillotin was so outspoken about the use of the device that people nicknamed it "la guillotine." (In French, it is pronounced like \ghee-yoh-teen\). By 1793, English speakers were referring to it as a "guillotine" too.