Alphonse Berger
Alphonse Léon Berger (* 1841 ; † 1906 ) was an executioner in Corsica from 1863 to 1872 , then assistant to the French executioners Nicholas Roch , Louis Deibler and Anatole Deibler and designer of an improved guillotine .
Life
He was a carpenter and cabinet maker by profession . In 1868 the French government commissioned him to design a new, improved model of the guillotine . The form of the machine, modified by Berger, remained in use from 1872 until the last execution in France of Hamida Djandoubi in 1977.
Berger was married to Olympe Roch, the daughter of his boss Nicholas Roch. The couple had several children, of which the youngest, André Léon Berger (1895-1956), went to Algeria and there in 1928 was the executioner's assistant to his uncle Henri Roch. When Henri Roch, who had grown old and senile, botched an execution, he was retired in December 1944 or January 1945 and replaced by André Berger on March 1, 1946.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Berger, Alphonse |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Berger, Alphonse Léon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Executioner in Corsica |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1841 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1906 |