Forensic Accomplishments

  • 1300

    13th Century China

    13th Century China
    First case ever recorded using forensic science. All the knives in a village were collected and flies were attracted to the knife with blood on it.
  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila
    "Father of Toxicology". He studied the detection of poisons and their effects on animals.
  • William Herschel

    William Herschel
    Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India.
  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon
    "Father of Criminal Identification". Developed anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals.
  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds
    Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect.
  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Published Sherlock Holmes. Considered first CSI and popularized scientific crime-detection methods.
  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton
    Published "Finger Prints". Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. Gave proof of fingerprint uniqueness.
  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross
    Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.
  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner
    Discovered the ABO blood groups, later received Nobel Prize.
  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard
    Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab. Became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France.
  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn
    Published "Questioned Documents". Developed the fundamental principles of document examination.
  • Leone Lattes

    Leone Lattes
    Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.
  • August Vollmer

    August Vollmer
    Established the first crime lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles.
  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard
    Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.