Fingerprint 404 436575c

700s AD—Chinese used fingerprints to establish identity of documents and clay sculptures.

  • 1922

    Francis Aston developed the mass spectrometer.
  • 1959

    James Watson and Francis Crick discover the DNA double helix
  • 1977

    AFIS developed by FBI, fully automated in 1996
  • 1984

    Jeffreys developed and used first DNA tests to be applied to a criminal case
  • 1896

    Edward Henry developed first classification system for fingerprint identification
  • 1000

    1000
    Roman courts determined that bloody palm prints were used to frame a man in his brother’s murder
  • 700s AD

    700s AD
    Chinese used fingerprints to establish identity of documents and clay sculptures
  • 1140

    1140
    King Richard of England introduced the idea of the coroner to investigate questionable death
  • 1200s

    1200s
    A murder in China is solved when flies were attracted to invisible blood residue on a sword of a man in the community
  • 1598

    1598
    Fidelus was first to practice forensic medicine in Italy
  • 1670

    Anton Van Leeuwenhoek constructed the first high-powered microscope
  • 1776

    Paul Revere identified the body of General Joseph Warren based on the false teeth he had made for him
  • 1784

    John Toms convicted of murder on basis of torn edge of wad of paper in pistol matching a piece of paper in his pocket
  • 1859

    Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen developed the science of spectroscopy.
  • 1864

    Crime scene photography developed
  • 1879

    Alphonse Bertillon developed a system to identify people using particular body measurements
  • 1900

    Karl Landsteiner identified human blood groups
  • 1904

    Edmond Locard formulated his famous principle, “Every contact leaves a trace.”