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1200
13th Century China
The first ever recorded case using forensic science. Someone was stabbed in China, and all knives were collected from the village households. Flies were attracted to traces of blood and all landed on one specific knife. This caused the suspect to confess. -
Mathieu Orfila
He is considered the "father of forensic toxicology". He was a chemist who published the first scientific paper on detection of drugs and their effects on animals. -
William Herschel
Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Considered the "father of forensic anthropology". Developed anthropometry, which used body measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Published his first "Sherlock Holmes" story. He is considered the first "CSI", and is featured in 4 novels and 56 short stories. He also popularized scientific crime-detection methods. -
Francis Galton
Published his book "Fingerprints", and conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. He gave proof of their uniqueness to individuals. -
Hans Gross
Published his book "Criminal Investigation". He wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. -
Karl Landsteiner
Discovered the blood type groups A, B, and O. He later received the Nobel Prize. -
Edmond Locard
He incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab. He later became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France. -
Albert S. Osborn
Published the book "Questioned Documents". He also developed the fundamental principles of document examination and handwriting observation. -
Leone Lattes
Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
Established the first crime lab in the United States, which is located in Los Angeles, California. -
Calvin Goddard
Developed a comparison microscope that was used to compare images of bullets to see if it was fired from the same weapon.
