Events that Led to Modern Forensic Science

First Physical Evidence in Criminal Case

1784

John Toms is convicted of murder because a torn piece of a newspaper found in the pistol that was fired matched the newspaper in his pocket. This event was important because it was the first time physical matching evidence was used in a criminal case.

Detecting Arsenic Poisoning

1806

Valentin Ross developed a method of finding arsenic in a victim's stomach. This event is important because it created a way to know if the victim was poisoned or not, at least by arsenic.

Poison Detection is Used in Court

1836

James Marsh, an English chemist, uses chemical processes in court and determines the cause of death of a victim was arsenic poisoning. This event is important because it was the first time chemistry was used in a court of law.

Photographs Used in Identifying Criminals

1854

The city of San Francisco starts to use photographs to identify criminals. This event is important because it was the first time criminals were identified by photographs and created the mugshot.

Fingerprints Found Unique

1880

Henry Faulds and William James Herschel publish a paper on the uniqueness of each person's fingerprints and later Francis Galton adapted the findings of their paper and found the patterns of a fingerprint to be plain arch, tented arch, simple loop, central pocket loop, double loop, lateral pocket loop, plain whorl, and accidental. This event is important because it brought the idea of fingerprint identification into the crime world.

Fingerprint ID Used in Crime

1892

Juan Vucetich uses dactyloscopy, the study of fingerprints, and uses the matching fingerprints in a murder investigation. This event is important because it was the first-ever use of fingerprint identification in a criminal investigation.

Gun Identification

1912

Victor Balthazard discovered that every gun leaves a unique groove on every bullet fired through it and that gun barrels never have the same markings. This event is important because it created the idea we now know as ballistics.

First Crime Lab

1923

The first police crime lab to study forensics is built in Los Angeles. This event is important because it greatly improved the efficiency and accuracy of forensic analyses.

Voice Recordings are Used as Evidence

1960

Phones, answering machines, or tape recorders are accepted as evidence now in court. This event is important because it was the first time voiceprints and voice recordings could be used as evidence.

DNA Evidence is Certified

1996

The National Academy of Science declares DNA evidence to be reliable in court. This event is important because DNA was allowed to be used as evidence of a crime in court.